Ng was convicted of all three counts in 1MDB fraud scheme that saw $2.7bn looted from Malaysia fund
Roger Ng, the only Goldman Sachs banker to go to trial in the US over the global 1MDB scandal, was found guilty for his role in the epic looting of the Malaysian fund.
It’s a hard-won victory for the US in the aftermath of fraud surrounding the sovereign wealth fund, set up to help Malaysia’s people and economy but instead was used to line the pockets of government officials, bankers and intermediaries with an estimated $2.7bn. Alleged mastermind Jho Low, who the US says bribed government officials to win the business for Goldman — and a $1.42bn jackpot for himself — remains at large.
Central to the government’s case was an FBI chart showing that Leissner sent $35m of the booty to a shell company controlled by Ng’s wife. The FBI said she later spent $300,000 on diamond jewellery and $20,000 on a gold hourglass. The US, which called 26 witnesses, argued that Ng and Leissner concealed the fraud from their superiors at Goldman, which made more than $600m arranging the three 1MDB bond deals in 2012 and 2013. Goldman paid Leissner at least $12m, while Ng got $3m after two of the bond deals closed, the government said.