U.S. PROSECUTORS EYE GOLDMAN SACHS

Team also considering criminal charges against ex-bank employee who worked closely with 1MDB

UNITED States prosecutors are investigating whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc has any culpability in a Malaysian fraud involving a government fund that had ties to a former bank employee, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is at the centre of moneylaundering investigations in at least six countries, including the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.

An estimated US$4.5 billion (RM18.3 billion) was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has alleged.

The investigation into how US$4 billion disappeared from 1MDB has involved US attorneys’ offices in Los Angeles and New York, but the US DoJ gave control to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who were “intensively focused” on Goldman’s role, NYT reported, citing people familiar with the probes.

Goldman, which generated about US$600 million in fees for its work with 1MDB, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said it was fully cooperating with authorities.

Spokesman Michael DuVally directed Reuters on Tuesday to the bank’s disclosures about 1MDB probes in a quarterly filing, which said the bank had received subpoenas and information requests from a number of government bodies and regulators.

Brooklyn prosecutors are also considering criminal charges against former Goldman investment banker Tim Leissner, who worked closely with 1MDB, NYT said.

Leissner’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DoJ spokesman Nicole Navas Oxman declined to comment.