Malaysia: ex-Goldman Sachs chief on trial for 1MDB corruption scandal

A former Goldman Sachs banker charged with helping to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund will go on trial in the United States next week, in a case that could shed light on how the bank responded to warnings of corruption.

Roger Ng, Goldman’s former investment banking chief in Malaysia, will be the first – and likely only – person to stand trial in the United States over one of the biggest financial scandals in Wall Street history.

Ng’s former boss, Timothy Leissner, pleaded guilty in 2018 to money laundering and corruption charges, while a Goldman subsidiary in 2020 pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate an anti-bribery law.

Ng has pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday in federal court in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors say Ng and Leissner evaded Goldman’s internal compliance protocols. But Ng’s lawyers say he had no role in the crimes and that Leissner falsely implicated him in an effort to reduce his punishment. Leissner, Goldman’s former Southeast Asia chairman, has not yet been sentenced.

Legal experts said Ng faces tough odds since prosecutors is likely to show the jury emails and online chats indicating his involvement, as well as financial records showing he benefited from the scheme. They are also expected to call Leissner as a witness.

“They have a bit of a mountain to climb especially since his boss has turned on him and will provide the testimony necessary to link him into the conversations, the actions, the strategy which facilitated the criminal act,” said Michael Weinstein, a white-collar criminal defence lawyer at Cole Schotz PC and a former federal prosecutor.