Goldman banker finally to stand trial after 1MDB scandal

The scene is repeated day after day: Roger Ng, a former banker from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., He leaves his Manhattan apartment and, wearing an electronic ankle monitor, heads downtown to build the case that could save him from jail.

Nearly three years have passed since Ng landed in the United States to face federal charges for his role in a scheme to steal billions from the Malaysian fund known as 1MDB. In that time, the former Malaysian prime minister was convicted of crimes, and Goldman has paid $5 billion in fines and apologized for breaking the law. It is one of the largest spots in its 153-year history.

Now the day is finally drawing near for Ng, the only person in all of Goldman Sachs to stand trial in USA for a scandal that spread from Singapore to Hollywood and Wall St., and beyond. Ng has pleaded not guilty.

Ng, 49, was released on $20 million bail and has been confined to his apartment except for a few outings to the grocery store and his attorney’s office. He has spent his days in that office poring over millions of documents in the vast case. He sits at a desk previously occupied by Martin Shkreli, who was sentenced to prison for securities fraud in 2018, in another high-profile legal drama.

Ng’s trial has been postponed for two years due to the pandemic, but it will finally start with jury selection on Monday and is expected to last at least five weeks. Ng faces up to 30 years in prison.

“Nobody expected him to be here for three years,” his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said at a recent hearing. Ng and Agnifilo declined to comment for this story.

By now, the outlines of the 1MDB scandal, or at least its more lewd details, are well known on Wall Street. There is a staggering $2.7 billion allegedly stolen, accompanied by bribes to various officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. Part of the money went to a $200 million superyacht, and other parts to paintings by Monet, van Gogh and Basquiat. Even more went to fund a movie based on another real-life market mayhem: “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The US says the “brazen” scheme could not have been carried out without the help of Goldman Sachs bankers.

Ng, a former head of investment banking in Malaysia, has been accused of helping Jho Low, a Malaysian financier, and Tim Leissner, a star Goldman banker, launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB. He is also charged with violating US anti-bribery laws.

Low, the alleged mastermind of the fraud, has denied any wrongdoing and remains at large. Leissner secretly pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws, as well as participating in a money laundering conspiracy. Leissner has agreed to cooperate with the US and is expected to be a star witness in Ng’s trial.

Ng has said that he was the first to tell Goldman Sachs about Low. Agnifilo, Ng’s lawyer, also said that Leissner cooperated with the US and implicated Ng to save himself. Agnifilo maintains that Ng played no role in the fraud.

The case against Ng centers on Goldman’s fundraising work in 2012 and 2013 for 1MDB, which raised about $6.5 billion in three transactions.

While assuring their superiors that Low was not involved, Ng and Leissner allegedly agreed to pay bribes to officials to facilitate the bond deal, $577 million of which was diverted to pay officials including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the officials said. tax. Low and others kept $295 million, while some $60 million was diverted to a company co-founded by Najib’s stepson and helped finance the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” according to US.

Ng ultimately received about $35 million that was diverted from 1MDB to an account “managed and controlled” by his wife, prosecutors say. Ng’s wife has not been charged with wrongdoing.

Leissner, who has agreed to forfeit $43.7 million and is expected to be sentenced later this year, could face up to 25 years in prison.

Ng was arrested in Malaysia in late 2018 and agreed to go to the US the following year. Even if he won in the US, his legal battle will not end there: he still faces a separate trial in Malaysia.