Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa, who had been charged by the United States Department of Justice on three counts of offences related to 1MDB, has today been denied bail pending his extradition hearing.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Colin Lawrence Sequerah dismissed Ng's application for bail after he was served with a 60-day remand order on the grounds of public interests, as he is a potential flight risk.
"The applicant was charged with three (criminal) indictments on 1MDB which are serious charges in court and there is no guarantee that if bail is granted he will run away.
"I am of the considered view that makes him likely to abscond. The larger interest of the public needs to be considered following the risk of the application. The application (for bail) is dismissed," he said.
Justice Sequerah had also dismissed Ng's contention that he was denied legal representation as the former banker said he could only meet his lawyers in court.
Ng had been arrested by the Malaysian police on Nov 1 following an application by the United States Department of Justice.
Following that, the magistrate’s court imposed a 60-day remand order on him pending his extradition hearing, which Ng is contesting.
This is despite the ban on Ng from travelling abroad since Dec last year.
According to deputy public prosecutor Manoj Kurup who led the prosecution team in opposing bail, no date has been fixed for the extradition hearing at the Sessions Court, as documents had just been filed yesterday.
Ng's lawyer, Tan Hock Chuan had informed Justice Sequerah that his instructions are to appeal today's decision and requested the grounds of today's decision be ready.
It is understood that the extradition hearing could be scheduled next week.
Ng, who was shaved bald while in remand, was present in court and entered the dock when proceedings began. Several of his family members were also seen in the public gallery.
It was reported that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said that Ng would be extradited to the United States if the country demands it.
According to the DOJ statement in Nov, the three-count criminal indictment at a federal court in New York pertains to Jho Low and Ng, conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB and conspiring to violate the American Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to various Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials.
"As part of the three-count indictment, Ng is also charged with conspiring to violate the FCPA by circumventing the internal accounting controls of a major New York-headquartered financial institution which underwrote more than US$6 billion in bonds issued by 1MDB in three separate bond offerings in 2012 and 2013 while Ng was employed at the financial institution as a managing director," the statement by the DOJ stated. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.