Malaysia asks US for list of officials bribed by ex-Goldman banker

 

Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner pleaded guilty in a New York court in 2018 to bribing several individuals in 1MDB and the government. (Bloomberg pic)

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is in discussions with US authorities to obtain the names of those who were bribed by former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner in the 1MDB case.

Leissner pleaded guilty in a New York court in 2018 to bribing several individuals in 1MDB and the government. However, the list of names of those who he had bribed was never revealed.

Last year, former prime minister Najib Razak lodged a report at MACC’s headquarters against Leissner, calling for the anti-graft agency to question him or seek his extradition.

Najib said the list of names could potentially exonerate him from the criminal charges he is facing in the 1MDB scandal.

“He (Najib) has lodged a report with us and we have opened an investigation paper into the matter. We are in touch with the American authorities,” said MACC chief Azam Baki today.

“It is their (US) prerogative if they want to share the evidence (list of names) with us.

“Our focus is on returning our assets from abroad but so far, they haven’t provided us the evidence we need,” he said when met at his office here.

Azam said MACC had to apply for the list of names through the Attorney-General’s Chambers because any foreign evidence that it wanted to obtain fell under the category of “mutual legal assistance” and the laws of the relevant country.

Najib said last year the list was disclosed by lawyers representing former Goldman Sachs investment banker Roger Ng during criminal proceedings brought against him in the US.

He also said his lawyers had won a case in the US to get the list of people who Leissner bribed in his confession.

“However, the US government, through the Department of Justice, objected to the US court’s decision and prevented the names from being disclosed,” he said after lodging the report at MACC’s headquarters.

Ng, formerly Goldman Sachs’ head of investment banking in Malaysia, is currently standing trial in New York for his alleged involvement in the 1MDB scandal. - FMT