Malaysian financier said he discussed 1MDB probe with Trump allies -testimony
By Luc Cohen
By Luc Cohen
© Reuters/Olivia Harris FILE PHOTO: Traffic passes a 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) billboard at the Tun Razak Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fugitive Malaysian financier said he won support from allies of former U.S. President Donald Trump for a possible settlement of a probe into the looting of funds from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, a former Goldman Sachs banker testified on Tuesday.
Tim Leissner offered a glimpse of what he had heard from financier Jho Low about the attempted deal, on the sixth day of his testimony at the trial of Roger Ng, another former Goldman banker. Ng, 49, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law.
Leissner, a former Goldman partner, said he had no independent verification of the information.
Leissner testified that Low, whom he described as the mastermind of the scheme, told him at a 2017 meeting that Low and his lawyers were in talks with the Trump administration about the potential for a multi-billion dollar deal that would spare several people from U.S. charges.
Low told Leissner he had met with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, in Beijing and had hired Chris Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, as his lawyer with the promise of a $10 million fee if the settlement was successful, Leissner said.
Christie said he represented Low in civil forfeiture actions in California that resulted in Low surrendering $700 million to the U.S. Department of Justice. He said he never entered into an agreement to receive a fee if charges were dropped in exchange for payment to the U.S. government.
"There were never any discussions between me and any members of the Trump administration that the criminal investigation would be dropped or any charges against Mr. Low or anyone else dismissed in exchange for payment to the government," Christie said in a statement. "Nor was there any agreement for a legal success fee to me to negotiate such a result."
Kushner could not be reached for comment.
Low, who was indicted by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn in 2018, has not been arrested by U.S. or Malaysian authorities. Malaysia says Low is in China, which Beijing denies.
Prosecutors say Goldman helped 1MDB raise $6.5 billion, but that $4.5 billion of those funds were diverted to government officials, bankers and their associates. The bank in 2020 agreed to pay a $3 billion fine and have its Malaysia subsidiary plead guilty in U.S. court.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Richard Chang)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fugitive Malaysian financier said he won support from allies of former U.S. President Donald Trump for a possible settlement of a probe into the looting of funds from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, a former Goldman Sachs banker testified on Tuesday.
Tim Leissner offered a glimpse of what he had heard from financier Jho Low about the attempted deal, on the sixth day of his testimony at the trial of Roger Ng, another former Goldman banker. Ng, 49, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law.
Leissner, a former Goldman partner, said he had no independent verification of the information.
Leissner testified that Low, whom he described as the mastermind of the scheme, told him at a 2017 meeting that Low and his lawyers were in talks with the Trump administration about the potential for a multi-billion dollar deal that would spare several people from U.S. charges.
Low told Leissner he had met with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, in Beijing and had hired Chris Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, as his lawyer with the promise of a $10 million fee if the settlement was successful, Leissner said.
Christie said he represented Low in civil forfeiture actions in California that resulted in Low surrendering $700 million to the U.S. Department of Justice. He said he never entered into an agreement to receive a fee if charges were dropped in exchange for payment to the U.S. government.
"There were never any discussions between me and any members of the Trump administration that the criminal investigation would be dropped or any charges against Mr. Low or anyone else dismissed in exchange for payment to the government," Christie said in a statement. "Nor was there any agreement for a legal success fee to me to negotiate such a result."
Kushner could not be reached for comment.
Low, who was indicted by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn in 2018, has not been arrested by U.S. or Malaysian authorities. Malaysia says Low is in China, which Beijing denies.
Prosecutors say Goldman helped 1MDB raise $6.5 billion, but that $4.5 billion of those funds were diverted to government officials, bankers and their associates. The bank in 2020 agreed to pay a $3 billion fine and have its Malaysia subsidiary plead guilty in U.S. court.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Richard Chang)
Ex-Goldman bankers consulted Feng Shui master on 1MDB probe -testimony
By Luc Cohen
By Luc Cohen
© Reuters/EDUARDO MUNOZ FILE PHOTO:
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng exits the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former Goldman Sachs bankers sought advice from a feng shui master in 2016 on how to handle a U.S. investigation into the looting of funds from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, one of the bankers, Tim Leissner, testified on Tuesday.
Leissner is the prosecutors' star witness at the Brooklyn federal court trial of Roger Ng, 49, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. Leissner, 52, pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2018 and agreed to cooperate with the government.
Leissner testified that after the FBI served him with a subpoena in February 2016, Ng and his wife, Hwee Bin Lim, suggested he consult a feng shui master they trusted to ask whether they "would be in trouble."
Ng had left Goldman in 2014, Leissner said.
The charges stem from one of the biggest financial scandals in history. Prosecutors say Goldman from 2009 to 2014 raised $6.5 billion for 1MDB through bond sales and earned $600 million in fees, but that $4.5 billion was diverted to officials, bankers and their associates through bribes and kickbacks.
Leissner testified that he and Ng played a key role in that scheme and that he personally transferred $35 million in kickbacks to Ng, Goldman's top banker for Malaysia. Leissner oversaw the firm's Southeast Asia team.
He said on Tuesday that Ng and Lim attended his meeting with the feng shui master at a Hong Kong hotel, where the master said he would have trouble with authorities over the next five years but that the problems would later resolve themselves.
"I was in a panic," Leissner said. "They felt this would give me comfort and they wanted to show their support."
At the end of the meeting, Leissner said he, Ng and Lim concocted a "cover story" involving Lim and Leissner's then-wife, Judy Chan, to justify the $35 million in funds.
The testimony could prove problematic for Ng, who argued that the money prosecutors call ill-gotten gains was actually derived from a legitimate business venture between the two men's wives.
Ng's lawyer has said he played no role in the scheme beyond introducing Leissner to an intermediary close to the Malaysian government, and says Ng later warned Goldman not to trust the intermediary.
Lawyers for Ng are expected to call Lim to testify in her husband's defense. They began cross examining Leissner, who has already testified for five full days, on Thursday morning.
Goldman in 2020 paid a nearly $3 billion fine and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in U.S. court.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Richard Chang)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former Goldman Sachs bankers sought advice from a feng shui master in 2016 on how to handle a U.S. investigation into the looting of funds from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, one of the bankers, Tim Leissner, testified on Tuesday.
Leissner is the prosecutors' star witness at the Brooklyn federal court trial of Roger Ng, 49, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. Leissner, 52, pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2018 and agreed to cooperate with the government.
Leissner testified that after the FBI served him with a subpoena in February 2016, Ng and his wife, Hwee Bin Lim, suggested he consult a feng shui master they trusted to ask whether they "would be in trouble."
Ng had left Goldman in 2014, Leissner said.
The charges stem from one of the biggest financial scandals in history. Prosecutors say Goldman from 2009 to 2014 raised $6.5 billion for 1MDB through bond sales and earned $600 million in fees, but that $4.5 billion was diverted to officials, bankers and their associates through bribes and kickbacks.
Leissner testified that he and Ng played a key role in that scheme and that he personally transferred $35 million in kickbacks to Ng, Goldman's top banker for Malaysia. Leissner oversaw the firm's Southeast Asia team.
He said on Tuesday that Ng and Lim attended his meeting with the feng shui master at a Hong Kong hotel, where the master said he would have trouble with authorities over the next five years but that the problems would later resolve themselves.
"I was in a panic," Leissner said. "They felt this would give me comfort and they wanted to show their support."
At the end of the meeting, Leissner said he, Ng and Lim concocted a "cover story" involving Lim and Leissner's then-wife, Judy Chan, to justify the $35 million in funds.
The testimony could prove problematic for Ng, who argued that the money prosecutors call ill-gotten gains was actually derived from a legitimate business venture between the two men's wives.
Ng's lawyer has said he played no role in the scheme beyond introducing Leissner to an intermediary close to the Malaysian government, and says Ng later warned Goldman not to trust the intermediary.
Lawyers for Ng are expected to call Lim to testify in her husband's defense. They began cross examining Leissner, who has already testified for five full days, on Thursday morning.
Goldman in 2020 paid a nearly $3 billion fine and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in U.S. court.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Richard Chang)
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