As of Monday, February 14th, Roger Ng, former head of investment banking in Malaysia for Goldman Sachs, will stand in trial in New York. He is currently accused of orchestrating a crucial role in the massive 1MDB scandal.
1MDB, 1Malaysia Development Berhad was the Malaysian government's investment fund created in 2009 by Prime Minister Najib Razak. The investment fund setup to help aid foreign development and investment in Malaysia turned into a funnel used to loot possibly $10 billion.
1MDB's banker, Goldman Sachs was involved in the looting from its inception in 2009 up until 2014. Goldman Sach facilitated the purchase of the bond issues of $6.5 billion. U.S. prosecutors have stated that Goldman received around $600 million from the deals and $4.5 billion of the fund was embezzled.
The stolen money was also used to steal the Razak's re-election. Hundreds of millions of dollars was laundered from the fund and diverted to Razak's and his allies re-election campaigns. The money is said to have been used for bribes and election fraud.
The embezzled funds were also used to purchase a stakes in luxurious hotels in New York and Beverly Hills. Ironically the stolen funds were also used to back The Wolf of Wall Street, a film about corruption.
Razak was sentenced to a 12 year jail time for his crimes. Jho Low, the said mastermind of the operation is still at large. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has paid $5.06 billion as a settlement.
Currently, Ng is accused of taking $35 million in kickbacks. Ng has pleaded not guilty. However, we will have to wait and see the results of the trial involving one of Wall Streets biggest scandals.
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