Ex-Goldman banker in 1MDB plea talks: Report

> Tim Leissner, who has not been charged, seeks deal with US prosecutors in criminal fraud probe, says The Wall Street Journal

SINGAPORE: A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker is in talks with US prosecutors to potentially plead guilty to criminal charges stemming from an alleged scheme to steal billions of dollars from a Malaysian state investment fund, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said the talks bring the fastmoving investigation closer to Goldman, which raised billions of dollars for 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

It also comes after Malaysia’s former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who founded the fund and lost his re-election bid in May, was charged with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in relation to SRC International, a former 1MDB unit.

Najib pleaded not guilty to those charges and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to 1MDB.

Tim Leissner, a one-time Goldman partner and Southeast Asia chairman hasn’t been charged. He is seeking an agreement with prosecutors that would involve his cooperation with the government’s criminal fraud probe into 1MDB and Goldman, the report said.

A spokesman for the US Department of Justice (DoJ) declined to comment. A lawyer for Leissner also declined to comment.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman told Reuters: “Since we suspended Mr Leissner, we have discovered certain activities he undertook that were deliberately hidden from the firm, which we have brought to the attention of the relevant authorities who continue to receive our full cooperation.”

Last month, citing sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that Malaysia is considering asking the DoJ to get Goldman Sachs to return nearly US$600 million (RM2.4 billion) in fees it earned from bonds raised for 1MDB.

Goldman raised nearly US$6.5 billion in three bond sales between 2012 and 2013 for 1MDB. More than US$2.5 billion raised from these bonds was misappropriated by highlevel 1MDB officials, their relatives and associates, according to DoJ civil lawsuits filed in a US court in 2016. – Reuters