Ex-Goldman banker Tim Leissner sentenced to two years’ jail for involvement in 1MDB case

NEW YORK – Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge in a New York court on May 29, after he pleaded guilty in 2018 to his involvement in

a multibillion-dollar scandal

involving Malaysia’s sovereign fund, 1MDB.

The Malaysian and US authorities estimated that US$4.5 billion (S$5.8 billion) was stolen from 1MDB in an elaborate scheme that spanned the globe and implicated high-level officials in the fund, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, Goldman executives and others.

Leissner, a former South-east Asia chairman for Goldman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to a conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and participating in a money-laundering conspiracy, all tied to his role in the 1MDB scandal.

Leissner’s conduct was “brazen and audacious”, Judge Margo Brodie said during sentencing.

While his cooperation with the government was taken into account, it did not make up for the harm caused by the corruption at the highest levels in several countries, the judge said.

“First and foremost, I offer my sincere apology to the people of Malaysia,” Leissner, 55, told the hearing, his voice breaking as he read a statement. “I deeply regret my actions.”

Goldman helped sell US$6.5 billion in bonds for 1MDB, which Najib set up with the help of

Malaysian financier Jho Low

to promote economic development.

The US and Malaysian authorities have said US$4.5 billion was siphoned away, with some diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies linked to Low, who is now a fugitive.

Leissner became a US government witness in the case after his arrest in 2018. He was allowed to remain free after he agreed to help the government in the investigation and testified against

former banking colleague Roger Ng.

Ng has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. The former head of investment banking for Goldman in Malaysia was convicted in Brooklyn and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but transported to Malaysia in 2023 to assist with probes there. 

Leissner met the government on dozens of occasions, reviewing countless documents and communications he received related to the 1MDB scheme and other matters, according to a filing by prosecutors.

“We respect the court’s decision today and Mr Leissner is prepared to serve his sentence and continue his future life of good works and care for his family,” said his lawyer, Mr Henry Mazurek, a partner at Meister Seelig & Fein.

Prosecutors asked the court to impose a sentence below the applicable guidelines range due to Leissner’s cooperation in the probe.

Malaysian minister Johari Abdul Ghani, who chairs its 1MDB asset recovery task force, said the two-year prison term for Leissner was “too short”.

“Considering he is one of the masterminds facilitating the 1MDB scandal, he should be given a maximum jail sentence,” he told Reuters in a text message on May 30.

Only criminal case against Goldman

Leissner told the court that he had lost his freedom, family and financial independence in the wake of the scandal. The former executive said his health also suffered, and that he took pills and lost the will to live.

Goldman said in a letter to the court on May 21 that Leissner deceived his colleagues for years, culminating in the only criminal case filed against Goldman in its 156-year history.

Goldman in 2020 paid a record US$2.9 billion fine and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in US court. It also clawed back US$174 million in executive compensation.

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from a unit of state investor 1MDB.

Malaysia’s top court in 2022 upheld a guilty verdict against Najib for corruption and money laundering,

sentencing him to 12 years in prison.

The sentence was later halved by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia’s former king.

Najib is currently in prison and is pursuing a legal bid to compel authorities to let him serve the rest of his sentence at home. REUTERS