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(Reuters) – David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., told his employees that he was "personally outraged" by the fact that any bank official would take action against the fraud charges filed. by the investment bank 1MDB.
PHOTO: David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, USA, September 26, 2018. REUTERS / Shannon Stapleton / File Photo
Solomon made the comments in a voicemail message sent to employees Wednesday, a few weeks after US prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against two former Goldman bankers related to the alleged billion dollar robbery of 1MDB, according to the transcript. a voicemail message sent to employees on Wednesday the bank gave Reuters on Thursday.
The government of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak created 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, in 2009.
An estimated $ 4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB by senior fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014, said the US Department of Justice. Najib has always denied wrongdoing related to alleged corruption involving 1MDB.
Tim Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs partner in Asia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the law on corrupt practices abroad and agreed to lose 43, $ 7 million.
Roger Ng, the other former defendant of banker Goldman, was arrested in Malaysia at the request of US authorities.
"It goes without saying that they (former employees) have violated company policies and procedures and have been in conflict with everything we stand for," Solomon said in a voice message to Goldman staff on Wednesday.
Goldman has been closely scrutinized for his role in helping 1MDB raise money through bond offerings, which earned him about $ 600 million in fees, a figure that critics have surpassed the normal level of fresh.
Goldman has previously stated that he "continues to cooperate with all authorities investigating this case". He denied any wrongdoing.
"1MDB remains an ongoing investigation and we will continue to work with the Justice Department and other authorities to shed light on what has happened and to move forward," added Solomon in his voice mail. from Wednesday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday that Goldman's bankers had "cheated" the country in its dealings with the state fund, while Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said his country would require a "full refund" of fees collected by the bank.
Goldman's shares have fallen nearly 10% since US prosecutors filed lawsuits against two former Goldman bankers. The stock has dropped more than 20% this year.
While US prosecutors have already filed civil lawsuits for the confiscation of allegedly stolen assets with some of the stolen funds, the lawsuits against Goldman's former bankers are the first criminal charges that the Justice Department has filed with the government. Against people under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal law aimed at official corruption abroad.
At least six countries, including Malaysia, the United States and Switzerland, have investigated alleged thefts in 1MDB.
The 1MDB investigations in the United States and Malaysia have multiplied since Najib suddenly lost the May legislative elections against Mahathir Mohamad, who returned to power 15 years after his retirement from the post of prime minister.
The story was first reported by Bloomberg on Thursday. bloom.bg/2Pxoq6u
Report by Aparajita Saxena to Bengaluru; Edited by James Emmanuel, Neal Templin and Clive McKeef
