The managing director of the prominent global financial institution, Goldman Sachs, pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money.
Goldman Sachs Branch in Hot Water
The former Southeast Asia chairman, Tim Leissner, was responsible for managing the head of the investment banking for the Malaysia Goldman Sachs branch.
Ng Chong Hwa was the head of investment banking in Malaysia and also has been charged with conspiracy to launder money and to violate the FCPA.
Justice Department Gets Involved
According to a Press Releases from the Department of Justice:
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (Goldman Sachs or the Company), a global financial institution headquartered in New York, New York, and Goldman Sachs (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (GS Malaysia), its Malaysian subsidiary, have admitted to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a scheme to pay over $1 billion in bribes to Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials to obtain lucrative business for Goldman Sachs, including its role in underwriting approximately $6.5 billion in three bond deals for 1Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB), for which the bank earned hundreds of millions in fees. Goldman Sachs will pay more than $2.9 billion as part of a coordinated resolution with criminal and civil authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and elsewhere.
Goldman Sachs entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the department in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Eastern District of New York charging the Company with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. GS Malaysia pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to a one-count criminal information charging it with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA.
Goldman Sachs’ Malaysian subsidiary pleaded guilty to its part in a globe-spanning fraud scheme that toppled the country’s leader. All told, Goldman will pay billions for its role in the looting of the 1MDB fund. https://t.co/RGdyIc9IzM
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 22, 2020
The department has also located and recovered a whopping $1 billion in assets for the Asian country.
Recovery of $1 Billion in Assets
“Goldman Sachs today accepted responsibility for its role in a conspiracy to bribe high-ranking foreign officials to obtain lucrative underwriting and other business relating to 1MDB,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“Today’s resolution, which requires Goldman Sachs to admit wrongdoing and pay nearly three billion dollars in penalties, fines, and disgorgement, holds the bank accountable for this criminal scheme and demonstrates the department’s continuing commitment to combatting corruption and protecting the U.S. financial system.”
