From Voice Of America
Malaysia filed criminal charges Monday against subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs and two of its employees in connection with the investigation of corruption at the state-owned 1MDB investment fund. A former 1MDB employee, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, and financier Jho Low were also charged.
The Malaysian attorney general’s office said Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and Jho Low conspired with Goldman Sachs employees Tim Leissner and Roger Ng Chong Hwa to bribe Malaysian officials into picking the bank to underwrite $6.5 billion in bonds.
In return, Goldman Sachs received $600 million in fees, which the attorney general said was “several times higher than the prevailing market rates and industry norms.” The statement announcing the charges also said that in addition to receiving some misappropriated bond proceeds, the Goldman Sachs employees also got “large bonuses and enhanced career prospects.”
The charges follow similar ones filed by the U.S. Justice Department in November against Jho Low and Roger Ng Chong Hwa for the same alleged scheme. Leissner pleaded guilty to his own U.S. charges of conspiring to launder money and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and was ordered to forfeit $43.7 million.
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