Ex-Goldman Sachs banker convicted on bribery and money laundering charges over role in $4.5 billion 1MDB fraud plot
- Ex-banker Roger Ng, 49, was found guilty on three counts in relation to a 1MDB fund scandal.
- US authorities have spent years trying to bring a case in connection with the fraud.
US authorities have convicted a former Goldman Sachs banker on bribery and money laundering charges over his role in a 1MDB fund scandal – years after authorities tried to bring a case.
AP and other outlets first reported the story.
Roger Ng, who worked as head of investment for Goldman Sachs, is facing up to 30 years in prison after a US jury found him guilty on all three counts: conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws, conspiring to launder money, and conspiring to sidestep Goldman's internal accounting controls.
Assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, Kenneth A. Polite, said in a press release on Friday: "Roger Ng participated in a massive bribery and money laundering scheme involving the corruption of high-level foreign officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates."
He added: "This trial demonstrates the commitment by the Department of Justice to prosecute and hold accountable individuals who engage in corruption and use our financial system to launder funds related to their illicit schemes."
Ng was employed as a managing director by various subsidiaries of Goldman and acted as an agent and employee of the bank from approximately 2005 to May 2014, according to the statement. He was involved in the bank's arrangement of 1MDB bond deals, it added.
1MDB is a Malaysian state-owned and controlled fund created to pursue investment and development projects for the economic benefit of Malaysia and its people.
Prosecutors accused Ng of netting about $35 million in stolen 1MDB funds and attempting to cover his tracks by deleting email accounts. It was alleged that Ng, alongside Goldman bankers, raised $6.5 billion through bond sales and diverted $4.5 billion of it to themselves and their co-conspirations through bribes and kickbacks, per AP.
Ng's representatives did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.
During the trial, Ng's lawyer Marc Agnifilo told jurors that apart from the testimony of his former boss Tom Leissner, there was no evidence linking Ng to the 1MDB fraud.
In 2018, Leissner pleaded guilty to bribery of government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The 52-year-old man was ordered to forfeit $43.7 million as part of his guilty plea and agreed to testify against Ng.
In 2020, Goldman's Malaysian subsidiary pleaded guilty to a bribery charge, and Goldman struck a settlement of up to $3.9 billion with Malaysia and paid a record $2.9 billion in a global settlement, per the press release.
US attorney Breon Peace said in a statement: "The Department of Justice and this Office are committed to addressing corporate culture by vigorously combating white-collar crime and holding corrupt individuals who seek to enrich themselves accountable for violating US laws here and abroad."
He added: "With today's verdict, a powerful message has been delivered to those who commit financial crimes motivated by greed."