Goldman Sachs' ex-employee Leissner receives a two-year prison sentence.
Fired Banker Tim Leissner Convicted for Role in $4.5 Billion 1MDB Scam
In a New York court, former investment banker Tim Leissner was handed a two-year prison sentence for his part in the massive 1MDB scandal. The scheme, which involved high-ranking fund managers, Goldman Sachs, and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, is estimated to have netted around $4.5 billion through a complex web of offshore accounts and shell companies.
The scandal, one of the largest financial frauds on record, had Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, at its center as the alleged mastermind. U.S. and Malaysian authorities accuse him of siphoning funds into personal accounts, bribing officials, and laundering money for luxurious personal expenditures and investments, including the financing of films like "The Wolf of Wall Street."
Leissner, who once led Goldman Sachs in Southeast Asia, confessed to his involvement in the scandal in 2018. As he apologized to the Malaysian people in court, he broke down, stating he had lost everything, including his freedom, family, and financial independence, due to the mess he had created.
Before Leissner was sentenced, Judge Margo Brodie declared that he acted "brazenly and recklessly." Although acknowledging his cooperation with investigators, she emphasized that the damage he had wrought in various countries cannot be undone.
Despite initial arrest in 2018, Leissner stayed free due to his cooperation with the authorities and testifying against his former colleague Roger Ng. Ng, the former head of Goldman Sachs’ Malaysian investment banking division, was found guilty in Brooklyn and received a 10-year prison sentence in 2023, before extradition to Malaysia. Najib, the former Prime Minister, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for abuse of power in 2022 but had his sentence halved on appeal.
A letter to the New York court from Goldman Sachs revealed Leissner had deceived his colleagues for years, resulting in the bank's first ever criminal case in its 156-year history. Goldman Sachs paid a record $2.9 billion fine and clawed back $174 million in salaries and bonuses from employees in 2020.
Jho Low, still at large, remains an international fugitive, accused by Malaysian and U.S. authorities of money laundering and related offenses. With Jho Low's testimony potentially shedding light on more individuals implicated in the scandal, efforts are ongoing to repatriate him, though faces challenges due to political resistance and complications.
- The 1MDB scandal, involving finance, business, and politics, saw former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, who once led the bank's operations in Southeast Asia, admitted to his guilty role in 2018.
- The complex web of offshore accounts and shell companies in the 1MDB scandal was used for general-news, crime-and-justice activities, with funds being siphoned for luxurious personal expenditures and investments, including the financing of films.
- Despite cooperating with authorities, Tim Leissner received a two-year prison sentence in a New York court, and his actions were found by the judge to be brazen and reckless, causing irreparable damage across multiple countries.
