Malaysia Files Criminal Charges Against Goldman Sachs
December 17 2018 - 4:08AM
Dow Jones News
By Tom Wright
HONG KONG--Malaysian authorities on Monday filed criminal
charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and a former partner of
the bank in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal, the
country's attorney general said in a statement.
Goldman Sachs International and two Asian subsidiaries of the
Wall Street bank were charged under securities laws for the
omission of material information and publishing of untrue
statements in offering documents in 2012 and 2013 for the sale of
international bonds by state investment fund 1Malaysia Development
Bhd., or 1MDB.
"We believe these charges are misdirected, will vigorously
defend them and look forward to the opportunity to present our
case. The firm continues to cooperate with all authorities
investigating these matters, " Goldman said in a statement.
Malaysia's attorney general also filed charges against Tim
Leissner, a former Goldman partner, under securities laws. Mr.
Leissner pleaded guilty in criminal charges made public by the U.S.
Justice Department in November to misappropriating 1MDB money and
bribing officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. His sentencing is
expected early next year.
Mr. Leissner wasn't immediately available for comment.
Goldman arranged $6.5 billion in bonds for 1MDB in 2012 and
2013, of which $2.7 billion was allegedly stolen. The bank made
$600 million in profits. The 1MDB fund is now the center of global
investigations led by the U.S. Justice Department and including
authorities in Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
"Malaysia considers the allegations in the charges against the
accused to be grave violations of our securities laws, and to
reflect their severity, prosecutors will seek criminal fines
against the accused well in excess of the $2.7 billion
misappropriated from the bonds proceeds and $600 million in fees
received by Goldman Sachs, and custodial sentences against each of
the individual accused: the maximum term of imprisonment being 10
years," the attorney general's statement said.
The attorney general also filed charges against Jho Low, the
alleged mastermind of the 1MDB scheme, and Jasmine Loo, a former
1MDB counsel. Both already have been charged in absentia by
Malaysian authorities with money laundering and other offenses. The
Justice Department also indicted Mr. Low with money-laundering and
other charges. The whereabouts of Mr. Low and Ms. Loo are unclear,
but Malaysian authorities believe Mr. Low is living in China.
Another former Goldman executive, Roger Ng, a Malaysian citizen,
is in detention in Kuala Lumpur and is expected to be charged later
this week. Attempts to reach Mr. Ng, who is fighting extradition to
the U.S., weren't successful.
Write to Tom Wright at tom.wright@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2018 03:53 ET (08:53 GMT)
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