Ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng gets 10 years in prison in 1MDB corruption case
- Ng was earlier convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, in a scandal that rocked the country’s politics
- He had pleaded not guilty, arguing the US$35 million in kickbacks he was accused of receiving was actually a return on an investment his wife had made
A jury in Brooklyn federal court last April found Ng, Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia, guilty of helping his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from the fund, launder the proceeds and bribe government officials to win business.
US prosecutors said US$4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. The funds were used to buy high-end real estate, jewellery and artwork, and finance the Hollywood film, The Wolf of Wall Street, according to the Department of Justice.
US District Judge Margo Brodie, who imposed the sentence, said Ng and his co-defendants “effectively stole money” meant for infrastructure and economic development projects to aid the Malaysian people.
“There is a critical need to deter crimes of pure greed like this one,” Brodie said.
