An American financier and former Goldman bankers for 1MDB

NEW YORK (Reuters) – US prosecutors unveiled on Thursday criminal charges against two former bankers of Goldman Sachs Inc. and Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, linked to the scandal of sovereign wealth funds in Malaysia 1MDB.

Prosecutors announced that Tim Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs partner in Asia, had 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, prosecutors said.

The third person, the financier known as Jho Low, is still on the run. Malaysian officials said Low would live in China.

The lawyers for Leissner and Low could not be contacted immediately for comment. We did not know immediately who represented Ng.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak created the fund in which Low played a key role. Najib has always denied having committed wrongful acts related to alleged corruption involving 1MDB.

An estimated $ 4.5 billion was diverted from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, by top fund officials and their associates, the US Department of Justice said.

Goldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The investment bank, which has generated commissions of about $ 600 million for its work with 1MDB, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has declared full cooperation with the authorities.

While US prosecutors had already filed civil suits for the confiscation of assets, allegedly purchased with part of the stolen funds, it is the first criminal charges brought by the Justice Department against individuals. under the Federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act abroad.

At least six countries, including Malaysia, the United States and Switzerland, have investigated alleged thefts in 1MDB.

US prosecutors have considered the possibility of laying charges against Najib or his collaborators, but they would prefer that Malaysia be the only one to bring criminal charges against any Malaysian official, a US law enforcement official said. .