FORMER chief of Goldman Sachs’ Southeast Asia operation Tim Leissner is a man with a mission – that is to clear his name, finger/foot prints, semen specimen and whatever else he can remember leaving behind – from the greed-led mess that he has himself orchestrated.
At the same time, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that he is/was also an astute part-time banker part-time womaniser who is/was caught in between the sphere of fiction and non-fiction.
Imagine this: he wasn’t even caught with his pants down but he trigger-happily dug deep to expose what transpired between the sheets between him and former Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd group CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan, a woman who can easily be seven or eight years his senior.
Nobody is denying that some men do have a penchant for older women (by the way, Rohana can be truly charming for a woman of her age) but in the 51-year-old Germany-born banker’s case, Rohana is definitely not his only so-called “Malaysian woman”.
Apart from Rohana, Leissner is also said to have relationship with the younger Nur Anis Jamaluddin (eldest daughter of the late former Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis), Elia Geneid @ Elia Abas (second daughter of Raziah Mahmud, the sister of Sarawak Governor Tun Pehin Abdul Taib Mahmud) and Jasmine Loo (1MDB lawyer).
Only Leissner can confirm if he is easily charmed by Eastern beauties or if there is a hidden motive in play when he intimately befriended the four women.
As to why Rohana who is deemed a “perfectionist” by many of her ex-staff/colleagues at Astro can fall for Leissner is as good as anybody’s guess although some quarters have hypothesised that it takes two individuals of the same mind to be together.
In this regard, nobody can say for sure if the relationship between Leissner and Rohana is merely one of convenience with the so-called “lovebirds” trying to outsmart each other monetarily.
On a bigger scheme of things, there is big probability that it was merely coincidental that Leissner adores “dark-skinned women” as testament to his marriage with Kimora Lee Simmons, 46 who is of African-American and Japanese-Korean heritage.
Beyond that, very few men – assuming that Leissner was trying to over-impress the prosecution by virtue of him being their key witness in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption scandal trial after having pleaded guilty in 2018 – will be able to paint such a vivid account of their adulterous life so openly.
One also wonders about the relevance of Leissner “womanising” the 1MDB trial as he testified against Roger Ng, his subordinate and Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia for having allegedly led a corruption scheme.
As reported, Leissner has also admitted that he faked not one but two divorces in both the US and China. In 2000, he claimed that he submitted fake documents to marry Judy Chan, a former analyst at Goldman while married to an unidentified woman.
Fourteen years down the road, Leissner then photo-shopped divorce documents to marry model and reality TV star Kimora in 2014, with whom he now has two sons.
Against the backdrop of Leissner’s rather “wishy-washy” testimony, it is advisable that Malaysians takes his revelation with a pinch of salt instead of treating what comes out from his mouth as gospel truth.
Beware that Leissner may have an axe to grind with his adversaries (nobody knows who exactly) and moreover, he has yet to be thoroughly grilled by the defence lawyer who would likely shine the spotlight on his history of lying about his marital status.
Insofar as Rohana is concerned, Malaysians – especially opinionated netizens who have flooded various social media platforms with disparaging comments – must be able to draw the line between respecting her private life (what transpires in the bedroom is her right) and her indulgence in a national scandal touted as mother of all scandals (national interest).
A breakthrough for real – hopefully – seems to be underway judging from the latest statement Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki that the graft buster is eager to recoup about US$10 mil (RM41.9 mil) allegedly linked to Leissner and Rohana.
Recall that the MACC has summoned Rohana up after Leissner told a US Federal Court during Ng’s trial on Feb 22 that he gave the former Astro head honcho with whom he had an affair for a decade (2003-2013) a US$10 mil home in London. – March 2, 2022
