Latest news with #TimLeissner
Malaysiakini
2 days ago
- Business
- Malaysiakini
Two years too light, Johari says on Leissner's 1MDB sentence
Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner being hit with a mere two years' imprisonment might send the wrong message to global financial institutions, 1MDB asset recovery task force chairperson Johari Ghani said. He said that Leissner's sentence was too lenient considering the scale and gravity of the role he played in the 1MDB scandal.
NBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- NBC News
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker gets 2 years in prison for plot to fleece billions from Malaysia's 1MDB fund
NEW YORK — A former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison for his role in a $4.5 billion scheme to ransack a Malaysian state investment fund. Tim Leissner, at his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court, apologized to the people of Malaysia, who he called the 'real victims' of the scheme. 'The funds raised more than a decade ago could have profoundly benefited the nation and its citizens,' he said in a statement read in court and provided by his lawyers. 'Instead, due to my greed — and the greed of those involved alongside me — they were misappropriated.' Prosecutors said Leissner and other Goldman Sachs bankers helped the Malaysian investment fund known as 1MDB, or the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund, raise $6.5 billion through bond sales. But they say more than $4.5 billion of the funds were stolen and laundered through bribes and kickbacks. The spoils bankrolled extravagant purchases, from wild parties to lavish spending on jewels, art, a superyacht and luxury real estate, prosecutors have said. They also helped finance the 2013 Martin Scorsese film 'The Wolf of Wall Street' that starred Leonardo DiCaprio. The scandal led to the fall of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's government in 2018. Najib was later convicted by a Malaysian court of abuse of power and other crimes related to the scandal and sentenced to 12 years in prison. 'What we did was unequivocally wrong, and I take full responsibility for my role,' Leissner said Thursday. 'I deeply regret my actions, and if I could turn back time, I would undo them without hesitation.' Leissner had pleaded guilty in 2018 to bribing government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. He served as a key government witness in the trial of Roger Ng, a fellow former Goldman Sachs banker who was sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in federal prison. Ng's lawyers described the looting of 1MDB as 'perhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world,' but maintained that prosecutors scapegoated him for crimes committed by others, including the higher-ranking Leissner. Prosecutors declined to comment on Thursday's sentence. They had not sought a specific prison term in filings ahead of sentencing while lawyers for Leissner had sought a sentence of time already served. Leissner is due to report to prison Sept. 15 and his lawyers have requested that he be sent to the federal prison in Otisville, New York, according to the prosecutors. Henry Mazurek, Leissner's lawyer, said his client is prepared to serve his sentence. It includes two years of supervised release after prison and a forfeiture totaling $43.7 million, which already has been paid to Malaysia, he said. 'Mr. Leissner cooperated not only to obtain leniency at sentencing, but to show his true remorse for his actions and tell the full story of 1MDB and Goldman Sachs,' Mazurek said in an email. 'He did that and will continue to tell all who will listen about the poisonous culture at Goldman that inspired the 1MDB scheme.'
Free Malaysia Today
2 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.
Barnama
2 days ago
- Business
- Barnama
Ex-Goldman Banker Leissner Sentenced to Two Years in Prison In 1MDB Case
NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) -- Former Goldman Sachs GS.N banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge in a New York court on Thursday after playing a key role in a multi-billion dollar scandal involving Malaysia's sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Malaysian and United States (US) authorities estimated US$4.5 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 Southeast 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. bootstrap slideshow 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 of bonds for 1MDB, which former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib set up with the help of Low to promote economic development. Some of the funds were diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies linked to Malaysian financier Jho 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 probes there.
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Ex-Goldman banker Leissner sentenced to two years in prison in 1MDB case
Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge in a New York court on Thursday after playing a key role in a multi-billion dollar scandal involving Malaysia's sovereign fund 1MDB. Malaysian and US authorities estimated $4.5bn (R80.38bn) 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 Southeast Asia chair 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 co-operation 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 when he read a statement. 'I deeply regret my actions.' Goldman helped sell $6.5bn (R116bn) of bonds for 1MDB, which Najib set up with the help of Malaysian financier Jho Low to promote economic development. Some funds were diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies linked to Low, who is now a fugitive.
