Roger Ng arrives in court for jury selection in New York on Tuesday. A federal jury will hear the opening statement today in the corruption trial of the former Goldman Sachs executive charged in the 1MDB scandal.
Seth Wenig / AP
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Seth Wenig / AP
Roger Ng arrives in court for jury selection in New York on Tuesday. A federal jury will hear the opening statement today in the corruption trial of the former Goldman Sachs executive charged in the 1MDB scandal.
Seth Wenig / AP
NEW YORK (AP) – A federal grand jury in Brooklyn will hear opening statements Monday in the corruption trial of a former Goldman Sachs executive charged in a multibillion-dollar run-in. of a Malaysian state investment fund.
Roger Ng’s own attorneys describe the $4.5 billion heist from the state hedge fund 1MDB as “probably the largest heist in the history of the world.” But they argue that US prosecutors have belittled the former banker because Goldman’s “company-wide” failures created massive fraud.
In fact, his lawyers argue, it was Ng who raised the earliest red flags about Low Taek Jho, the Malaysian financier and fugitive known as Jho Low, who is accused of mastermind massive bribery and money laundering scheme.
Federal prosecutors say the embezzlement led to lavish spending on jewelry, art, superyachts and luxury real estate. The booty even helped finance Hollywood movies, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
A former investment banker in Malaysia, Ng is the only Goldman banker to stand trial in the 1MDB scandal. Proceedings in Brooklyn federal court are expected to last several weeks.
Ng, 49, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to launder money and violating anti-bribery laws. Federal prosecutors say he conspired with Low to launder stolen money through the US financial system. They say he played a key role in a scheme where money laundered was also used to bribe foreign officials.
Marc Agnifilo, Ng’s defense attorney, declined to comment. Agnifilo wrote in court papers that Ng was “absolutely unrelated to the appalling crimes committed by others.” Ng’s only role, he said, was to introduce Low to “much more involved” superiors at Goldman.
“Perhaps in the most dramatic twist of the case, it was Roger Ng in early March 2010 who specifically warned his superiors at Goldman that Low was a politically outspoken man, that Low should not be trust, and Goldman should be cautious in dealing with Low,” the defense wrote.
A message was sent to Goldman Sachs seeking comment. A subsidiary of Goldman Sachs admitted “knowingly and intentionally” to conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws, agreeing to pay more than $2.9 billion. The penalties include about $600 million in profits Goldman made in the wake of the 1MDB scandal. That is higher than the $3.9 billion Goldman paid Malaysia.
Low, who maintained his chastity, became famous in the New York City and Los Angeles club scenes. In 2012, he threw a lavish 31st birthday party attended by DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian and other celebs – a party described by The Wall Street Journal as a “wild party”. wildest Vegas has ever seen.”
The bond sales organized by Goldman Sachs for the investment fund 1MDB provided the opportunity for associates of Najib Razak, the former prime minister of Malaysia, to steal and launder billions of dollars over the years.
Najib founded 1MDB when he came to power in 2009, ostensibly to promote Malaysia’s economic development. But the fund amassed billions in debt and eventually, in 2018, his government collapsed. In 2020, he was convicted in Malaysia of abuse of power and other charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Another former Goldman banker, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty in 2018 to paying millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. He was forced to lose $43.7 million as part of his guilty plea and is expected to testify against Ng.
