US prosecutors said evidence showed Ng collected US$35.1 million in the fraud, while Leissner received US$73.4 million. Low stole US$1.42 billion from three bond transactions that Goldman arranged for 1MDB, said a forensic accountant with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who testified at Ng’s trial. The judge said anyone who asserts a legal interest in the Celsius shares may file a petition with the court. Michel says he is innocent.Įx-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng exits the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse (EDNY) after being found guilty for his part helping embezzle from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., April 8, 2022.Judge Brodie said in her Friday order that the Celsius shares were being held at a JPMorgan Chase account in the name of Leissner’s former wife, Ms Kimora Lee Simmons. Broidy pleaded guilty, but was pardoned by Trump, so was never sentenced.Ī member of the hip-hop group the Fugees, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, was also charged with being part of a conspiracy to help Low make illegal campaign contributions. The scandal touched on several figures in the U.S.Ī top fundraiser for former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Elliott Broidy, was charged with running an illegal lobbying campaign on Jho Low’s behalf to get the Justice Department to drop its investigation into 1MDB’s looting. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.īut Najib was acquitted last week of tampering with an audit to cover up wrongdoing. A Malaysian court would later find him guilty of abusing his power and committing other crimes connected to the massive embezzlement. The financial scandal helped topple his government during the country’s 2018 elections. The fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was set up in 2009 by Prime Minister Najib Razak to promote economic development. government said the theft of so much money harmed the people of Malaysia. The firm had previously reached a $3.9 billion settlement with the government of Malaysia. In 2020, Goldman Sachs acknowledged its role in the embezzlement scheme and paid more than US$2.3 billion as part of a plea deal with the U.S. He said Leissner implicated him to gain leniency during his own sentencing. Ng, who oversaw investment banking in Malaysia for his firm, was the only Goldman Sachs banker to stand trial. That amount could be anything up to $35 million. The judge declined to issue a fine, and would consider a forfeiture amount in the coming days. Ng was allowed to leave the courthouse and will surrender to authorities in two months, unless the judge grants his request to remain released on bail while he appeals. The third man, the Malaysian financier known as “Jho Low,” remains an international fugitive. He was ordered to pay $43.7 million and became a key government witness during Ng’s two-month trial. One of them, Tim Leissner, Ng’s former boss at Goldman Sachs, pleaded guilty in 2018 to bribing government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. His lawyers acknowledged the looting was “perhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world.” But they failed to convince the jury that Ng was the fall guy for two other people charged in the $4.5 billion scheme. READ MORE: Malaysia files criminal charges against Goldman Sachs He has been under house arrest for the past four years.įederal prosecutors had asked Brodie for a 15-year sentence. Ng was extradited to the United States in 2019 after spending six months in custody in Malaysia. His lawyers argued that incarceration would worsen his “serious mental health condition.” Ng had hoped that he would avoid prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia, where he faces a separate prosecution. The judge admonished Ng: “The only explanation for your conduct is greed.” “I don’t want to live in resentment,” he said. Reading from a prepared statement, Ng pleaded for mercy from U.S. Prosecutors said Ng and his co-conspirators helped the Malaysian fund, known as 1MDB, raise $6.5 billion through bond sales - only to participate in a scheme that siphoned off more than two-thirds of the money, some of which went to pay bribes and kickbacks. District Court jury in Brooklyn, but he continues to deny charges that he conspired to launder money and violated two anti-bribery laws. Roger Ng was convicted last April by a U.S. NEW YORK (AP) - A former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for his role in looting a Malaysian development fund of billions of dollars used to finance lavish parties, a superyacht, premium real estate and even the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

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