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Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges on Thursday against a Malaysian financial and two form Goldman Sachs investment bankers who helped raise money for a Malaysian government investment fund from which some $ 4 billion disappeared.
The charges against the Goldman bankers, Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, were announced by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. Also, Jho Low, the Malaysian Financial Wholesaler, has been depicted as a mastermind of the Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Mr. Leissner pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit moneylaundering and to violating anti-bribery laws. Mr. Ng faces similar charges. Mr. Ng was arrested on Thursday in Malaysia, the authorities said. Mr. Low remained at large.
The filing of criminal charges in the matter was a rare move against senior officials at a major American bank in the decade since the financial crisis. Goldman – the primary bond underwriter for the fund at the center, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB – to reach a potential settlement with the federal authorities.
The fund has become the focus of an international scandal reaching from Malaysia to the United States to Hong Kong.
Until recently, the investigation has focused mainly on allegations that Mr. Low is misappropriated billions of dollars from the 1MDB fund. Federal Prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed multiple civil lawsuits to recoup assets with some of that money.
Prosecutors in the United States and elsewhere believe that a group of people with close ties to the train Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak stole from the fund to buy paintings, yachts, real estate and even investment stakes in movies like "The Wolf of Wall Street. "
Some of those allegations were described in civil forfeiture by Los Angeles last year.
The investigation rocked Malaysian politics earlier this year, leading voters to oust Mr. Razak. The new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has moved quickly to investigate the claim of trillions of dollars from the investment fund, which was created under Mr. Najib. The Malaysian government is seeking restitution from Goldman, according to the country's new finance minister.
Goldman provided an array of services to the fund, including helping to sell billions of dollars in bonds to investors, earning about $ 600 million in fees for its work. The authorities have examined what role, if any, of the fraud, whether it was misappropriated and the misappropriation of funds.
Goldman has even played down his role in the scandal, saying it was unaware of how cheap the money was being used. The firm has said it was cooperating with the investigation.
Goldman did not immediately have a comment on Thursday. A lawyer for Mr. Leissner could not be reached for comment. A representative for Mr. Low did not have an immediate comment.
Mr. Leissner, who worked closely with the Malaysian fund, had been in plea talks with the federal prosecutor for some time. Mr. Ng reported to Mr. Leissner at Goldman. It was not known who was Mr. Ng.
Both Mr. Leissner and Mr. Ng left the bank over a year ago.
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