Disgraced Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, in his testimony before the New York Eastern District Court, had mentioned bribery involving a former Bank Negara governor's husband.
However, he could not independently verify if a bribe was indeed paid.
According to court transcripts of Roger Ng’s trial, Leissner mentioned this when asked by prosecutors on his dealings with the PetroSaudi-1MDB joint venture project.
He explained that he had heard through Ng - Leissner's subordinate at the time - that 1MDB had invested US$1 billion (RM4 billion) into the joint venture.
“You have to understand in 2009 Malaysia still had capital controls in place, which would require an investment of that size to be approved by Bank Negara in terms of the money leaving the country.
“They would have to approve a billion dollars leaving Malaysia basically. And what Roger (Ng) reported back to me was that he had heard that the money had left overnight, the country.
“A billion dollars was wired overnight to Malaysia to the joint venture and it had been done because the husband of the then governor Zeti (Akhtar Aziz) at Bank Negara had received a bribe to make that happen,” said Leissner.
“So, overnight that money was transferred, which was unprecedented at that time. No approval was obtained that quickly with Bank Negara,” he added.
When questioned by prosecutors if the actual bribe was paid in relation to the PetroSaudi-1MDB joint venture, Leissner replied: “I don't know independently if bribes had been paid.”
Based on the transcripts of Leissner's testimony on Feb 22, he mentioned Zeti twice and did not mention her husband, Tawfiq Ayman.
In November last year, the MACC said Singapore had repatriated to Malaysia US$15.4 million in 1MDB-linked funds that involved a company co-owned by Tawfiq.
According to The Edge, the transfers totalling US$16.22 million took place in 2008 and 2009 and were flagged to Bank Negara in 2015 and 2016 when Singapore began investigating 1MDB linked transfers.
The MACC has not openly commented on the matter but some reports suggest that they are investigating Tawfiq's involvement, alongside former finance minister II Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
Leissner is a star witness in Ng's trial. Ng was charged with bribery and money laundering linked to the 1MDB affair.
In 2018, Leissner pleaded guilty to similar charges and was forced to forfeit US$44 million.
Najib: Where’s the media on this?
Meanwhile, Najib Abdul Razak, who, during his time as prime minister, was acquainted with Leissner, said today he found it strange that the media did not report this part of Leissner's testimony.
Most Malaysian media organisations had reproduced Bloomberg's report on Leissner's testimony on Low Taek Jho's request to have Najib's three children in Goldman Sachs' employ.
Najib has since clarified that his children had never received such employment offers from Goldman Sachs.
“I find it strange that the media is playing up (the testimony) on my children’s (purported) employment (offer) when Leissner had also told the court (about the alleged bribe).
“Isn't the media going to report about this?” wrote Najib.
In 2009, 1MDB entered a deal with PetroSaudi to explore oil. US authorities believe that US$700 million of 1MDB's US$1 billion fund injection went into Good Star Ltd, a company controlled by Low, also known as Jho Low.
At the time, the Najib administration insisted that 1MDB's investment in the joint venture was sound and that it had been converted into “fund units” in Singapore. It is uncertain if the “fund units” were ever redeemed. - Mkini
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