bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Two former Goldman Sachs bankers sought advice from a feng shui master in 2016 on how to handle a US 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”.
Malaysia freezes assets of ex-Goldman banker’s alleged lover amid probe
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 US$6.5 billion for 1MDB through bond sales and earned US$600 million in fees, but that US$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 US$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 US$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.
1MDB jury hears how ex-Goldman bankers used wives to hide kickbacks
Leissner also admitted under cross-examination on Tuesday that he had “lied a lot” in his life.
Ng’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo grilled Leissner about his romantic relationships with five different women. Leissner said he had twice been secretly married to two women at the same time, and had on at least one occasion forged a divorce certificate to mislead a woman he wanted to marry.
“I have lied a lot sir, and I have regretted those choices,” Leissner said.
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 defence.
Goldman in 2020 paid a nearly US$3 billion fine and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in US court.


Malaysia seeks gag order on Najib Razak’s house arrest bid

Malaysia’s PM denies hiding document on Najib’s home detention

Malaysia says it has no record of documents granting ex-PM Najib home detention

Malaysia’s Anwar risks political peril as Najib’s house arrest saga drags on

Malaysia 1MDB scandal

Ex-Goldman Sachs bankers consulted feng shui master on 1MDB probe, court hears

Witness Timothy Leissner points out former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng in Brooklyn federal court in New York in February. Courtroom sketch: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters

Roger Ng arrives for jury selection in New York in February. Photo: AP 

Malaysia 1MDB scandal: Najib on the defensive after US trial testimony, faces fresh attack from Mahathir

An artist’s impression of the moment star witness Timothy Leissner points out former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng in the ongoing US trial over the 1MDB scandal. Photo: Reuters

Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner leaves the court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Photo: Bloomberg

Najib Razak, Malaysia’s former prime minister. Photo: Bloomberg

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng leaves the federal court in New York. Photo: Reuters

Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Reuters

1MDB trial: Ex-Goldman boss met Malaysia’s Najib Razak to get his children jobs, jury told

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo: Bernama/dpa

Tim Leissner, former chairman of Southeast Asia for Goldman Sachs. File photo: Bloomberg

Witness Timothy Leissner in the Brooklyn federal court on February 16, 2022. Photo: Court sketch via Reuters

Billionaire financier Jho Low. File photo: AP 

Workers pictured in front of a hoarding for state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad in Kuala Lumpur. File photo: AP 

Malaysia 1MDB scandal: bigamy, bribes and boozy parties – juicy details emerge from US trial

Fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. Photo: SCMP

Former Goldman employee Roger Ng. Photo: Bloomberg

Tim Leissner, former Goldman chairman of Southeast Asia. Photo: Bloomberg

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia


Star witness Tim Leissner says former colleague Roger Ng and his wife suggested he talk to an expert to see if they would ‘be in trouble’ over the investigation
The feng shui master told Leissner he would have trouble with authorities over the next five years but that the problems would later resolve themselves



Star witness Tim Leissner says former colleague Roger Ng and his wife suggested he talk to an expert to see if they would ‘be in trouble’ over the investigation.


Goldman Sachs

Feng Shui

Malaysia