Goldman Sachs has asked US federal prosecutors to ease up on the bank for its role in a scheme involving billions of dollars from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), reports the New York Times (NYT).
According to NYT’s report on June 11, Goldman Sachs’ lawyers asked Deputy Attorney-General Jeffrey Rosen to review some federal prosecutors’ demands for the bank to pay more than US$2 bil in fines and plead guilty to a felony charge.
The bank sought to pay a lower fine and avoid a guilty plea, according to NYT’s sources.
More than US$2.7 bil, meant to finance projects for the benefit of Malaysians, was diverted from 1MDB in a scheme involving financier Low Taek Jho, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and other powerful people.
Two former Goldman Sachs executives have been charged in the US. One of them, Tim Leissner, has already pleaded guilty.
On June 6, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told Reuters that Malaysia would not accept compensation of even as much as US$3 bil from Goldman Sachs in a settlement over the 1MDB scandal. – June 12, 2020
