Latest news with #JhoLow
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
‘Billion Dollar Whale' co-author slams Tim Leissner's light jail sentence
Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner (left) at the US district court in New York yesterday for his sentencing hearing. (AFP pic) PETALING JAYA : US-based journalist Tom Wright, who co-authored the 'Billion Dollar Whale', has criticised the two-year sentence handed down to a former Goldman Sachs banker for his role in the 1MDB scandal. On X, Wright said the sentence 'is no justice'. Earlier today, Tim Leissner, a former employee of the investment bank was sentenced to jail by a New York court. Leissner, a former Southeast Asia chairman for Goldman Sachs, 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. Wright said Leissner should have been sentenced for a longer period and suggested that his two-year sentence was in view of the cooperation he had given to get Roger Ng, another former Goldman Sachs banker 'sent to jail'. 'But that is punching down.' Separately, in his weekly newsletter, 'Whale Hunting', Wright wondered if justice had been served as regards Goldman Sachs's role in helping steal billions of dollars. 'Not by a long shot.' Goldman had helped sell US$6.5 billion of bonds for 1MDB, an investment arm set up by former prime minister Najib Razak, with the help of fugitive financier, Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, the central figure in Wright's book. Leissner later became a US government witness in the case after his arrest in 2018 and testified against Ng.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Ex-Goldman Banker Sentenced to 2 Years in 1MDB Bribery Scandal
A disgraced former Goldman Sachs banker turned government cooperator was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for his role in the looting of billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund in a global scandal that tarnished the Wall Street bank. Tim Leissner pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiring with another Goldman banker and a well-connected Malaysian financier, Jho Low, to bribe foreign government officials and secure lucrative business deals with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a state-controlled economic-development company known as 1MDB.
Malay Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Anwar: No confirmation on Jho Low's location, but return could reveal more 1MDB links
KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said efforts to bring fugitive financier Low Taek Jho — better known as Jho Low — back to Malaysia may unsettle certain quarters. In an interview with Al Jazeera's 101 East, Anwar acknowledged that there are likely individuals who do not want Low to be brought back, suggesting that his return could potentially expose more people connected to the scandal. When asked if there were camps resisting Low's return, Anwar replied that he believed so. 'I think he is quite instrumental and his testimony will be pivotal in actually closing... putting an end to this case (1MDB),' he told Al Jazeera. Addressing the challenges of repatriating Low — particularly amid speculation that he may be in China — Anwar said, 'no one knows his whereabouts'. He added that while authorities suspect some movements, they are unable to confirm his location. 'If I say more, there will be more complications,' he noted. Still, Anwar stressed that bringing Low back was not his sole priority as prime minister. He said his broader mission is to restore good governance and eradicate systemic corruption — a long-term effort that goes well beyond the 1MDB case.
Al Jazeera
15-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Politics & Diplomacy: Exclusive Interview with Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim came to power in Malaysia soon after ex-PM Najib Razak was jailed for his role in the $4.5bn 1MDB financial scandal. He has faced criticism after a royal pardon slashed Najib's sentence while alleged 1MDB mastermind, Jho Low, remains at large. Anwar leads ASEAN this year as it confronts Donald Trump's tariffs and rising transnational crime, including a cyber-scam industry in Cambodia worth billions of dollars. In a 101 East exclusive, Anwar Ibrahim speaks about politics and corruption in Malaysia and his conversations with Cambodia's PM Hun Manet before the controversial deportation of domestic worker, Nuon Thoeun.
Free Malaysia Today
08-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
1MDB's US$700mil transferred to entity linked to Jho Low, court told
Najib Razak is on trial for abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014. (Bernama pic) PUTRAJAYA : A former Deutsche Bank CEO told the Najib Razak 1MDB trial that the bank had acted on 1MDB's instructions when transferring US$700 million to an entity later shown to be controlled by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low). Raymond Yeoh said 1MDB's then executive director Tang Keng Chee informed him and Jacqueline Ho, another senior banker, that the US$700 million was meant for PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI), although the approval issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said otherwise. 'I sought clarification from BNM and spoke to foreign exchange administration department officer Wan Hanisah (Wan Ibrahim) about the remittance instruction. 'She said it was not for BNM to say anything as it was 1MDB's business decision,' Yeoh told the High Court. The court had previously heard that 1MDB had entered into a joint venture with PSI in 2009 and was obliged to invest US$1 billion into the project. The sum was supposed to be deposited into an account held jointly by 1MDB and PSI, but only US$300 million was moved into it. Yeoh said that following his conversation with Wan Hanisah, Deutsche Bank executed the US$700 million transfer to an account held by Good Star at RBS Coutts. It was later revealed that Good Star was controlled by Low. Yeoh also told the court that he knew Ho had testified in the trial previously but said he was unaware of the contents of her testimony. The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on April 22. Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
