In 2015, the Malaysian government collapsed after a scandal involving embezzlement from the state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund; the scandal shows no sign of slowing down, with fresh accusations against the country's business and political leadership surfacing regularly and one prime suspect, the financier and "tabloid party boy" Jho Low going on the run, a fugitive believed to be in China.
The latest turn in the scandal is criminal charges against two former Goldman Sachs bankers who are accused of helping Low launder $4.5 billion. One of the Goldman bankers, Tim Leissner, has pleaded guilty and been ordered to forfeit $43.7 million. The other Goldman banker, Roger Ng, was criminally indicted in the USA this week.
Low and Roger Ng, a Malaysian banker at Goldman Sachs, were indicted on three counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, bribery, and circumvention of accounting controls, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ng was arrested Thursday in Malaysia. Low, who is believed to be in China, remains at large.
The government also unsealed a criminal complaint against Tim Leissner, Goldman's former Southeast Asia chairman. Leissner has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the FCPA. He has been ordered to forfeit $43.7 million.
Former Goldman Sachs bankers charged in multibillion-dollar money-laundering scandal [Reuters]
(via Reddit)
(Image: Khairil Yusof, CC-BY-SA)
