1MDB scandal: Malaysia to issue summonses to Goldman Sachs’ London, Hong Kong units

The two units were charged last year with misleading investors by the newly elected government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad

But on Monday, only the Singapore unit of Goldman Sachs appeared at a pre-trial hearing in Kuala Lumpur

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The Malaysian government has charged three Goldman Sachs units with misleading investors in US$6.5 billion of bond issues for 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 5:17pm, 18 Mar 2019Updated: 1:48am, 19 Mar 2019

Malaysian prosecutors on Monday said they would issue summonses to units of US investment bank Goldman Sachs in London and Hong Kong, requiring them to respond by June to criminal charges filed against them last year.

Soon after being elected in May, the country’s new government charged three units of Goldman Sachs with misleading investors by making untrue statements and omitting key facts in relation to bond issues totalling US$6.5 billion for state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The 1MDB logo is seen through the window of a car in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AFP

On Monday, only the Singapore unit of Goldman Sachs appeared at a pre-trial hearing in a Kuala Lumpur court as a respondent.

“Fresh summonses will be served on the United Kingdom and Hong Kong offices of Goldman Sachs ahead of the next court hearing on June 24,” prosecutor Aaron Paul Chelliah told reporters.

Explained: Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal

The 1MDB scandal played a major role in the electoral defeat that ended Najib Razak’s near decade in power, and a new government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad promptly reopened corruption investigations.