US authorities subpoena Goldman Sachs in 1MDB probe

A view of the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - United States authorities have issued subpoenas to Goldman Sachs Group Inc for documents related to the bank's dealings with scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1MDB, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Friday (July 29).

Goldman received the subpoenas earlier this year from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. http://on.wsj.com/2axt8L8

The authorities also want to interview current and former Goldman employees in connection with the inquiries, but none of those meetings had occurred by Friday, WSJ said.

The Department of Justice and the SEC declined to comment. No one from Goldman Sachs was available for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

1MDB, which was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 shortly after he came to office, is being investigated for money-laundering in at least six countries including the United States, Singapore and Switzerland.

Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

US law enforcement officials are attempting to identify whether Goldman violated federal law after failing to flag a transaction in Malaysia, the Journal reported in June.

New York state regulators have also asked the Wall Street bank for details about probes into billions of dollars it raised in a bond offering for 1MDB, Reuters reported in June, citing a person familiar with the matter.

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