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Swordsmyth
11-04-2018, 11:15 PM
Last week, the DOJ filed the first round of criminal charges related to the massive international fraud that was the 1MDB scandal. US prosecutors allege that more than $4.5 billion was embezzled from the sovereign wealth fund, which was set up by the government of disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak, eventually leading the ransacked government fund to a default on nearly $2 billion of local currency bonds, briefly denting the value of the Malaysian ringgit. Holders of those bonds are still working on a restructuring deal with the fund. Meanwhile, former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia Chief Tim Leissner has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is expected to cooperate with authorities against other more-senior officials at the bank. One of his fellow bankers, Roger Ng, was arrested by Malaysian police and is expected to be extradited to the US.
There's little doubt that the scandal, which Goldman has, in typical Goldman fashion, tried to pin on a "few rogue employees," will lead to massive fines and possibly other penalties. The bank admitted as much in a regulatory filing on Friday, even suggesting that "other sanctions" - code for a guilty plea for the bank or even more severe penalties levied by the Treasury - could be forthcoming, per Reuters. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-1mdb-probe/goldman-says-1mdb-dealings-may-still-result-in-penalties-filing-idUSKCN1N72JX)
Leissner has already admitted that he accepted more than $200 million in stolen funds in an illegal kickback tied to the deal, as well as bribery charges related to his pursuit of the 1MDB deals. And as more details trickle out, the blithe disregard for US securities laws - and even the bank's own compliance department - attributed to Leissner and his team is looking even more galling.


All of this is happening at a terrible time for Goldman. It recently underwent a leadership transition, with longtime former CEO Lloyd Blankfein handing the reins to John Solomon, who is best known for moonlighting as an EDM DJ. Blankfein's former second-in-command, Gary Cohn, left the bank nearly two years ago to join the Trump Administration. And as the breadth of the scandal - and the likelihood that the bank's most senior employees may have looked the other way (though, to be sure, Blankfein has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Goldman's role) - becomes increasingly apparent, the timing of Blankfein's exit is looking more and more suspect.
Public perception polling shows that Goldman has never quite managed to shake the "Vampire Squid" moniker that it earned during the financial crisis, according to Bloomberg. (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-02/goldman-sachs-left-counting-the-damage-of-1mdb-scandal)
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018.11.04goldmanrep.jpg
In a story published Sunday, Bloomberg released the most detailed account yet about the lengths that Leissner went to circumvent Goldman's compliance department in order to close on three successive bond issues underwritten by Goldman. The issues, totaling $6 billion, netted $600 million in fees for Goldman. To ensure that the deal would close, Leissner concealed the involvement of Jho Low, a Malaysian financier who was among the individuals charged by the DOJ on Thursday. In an effort to leverage Low's connections to Razak, Leissner tried to set Low up with an account at Goldman's vaunted private wealth division, but was again rebuffed by compliance officers in Switzerland and Singapore. Eventually, Goldman compliance teams from Europe to Africa, as well as the bank's global intelligence group, issued warnings about Low and cautioned that the bank should avoid taking him on as a client.
But that didn't stop Leissner from inviting Low to a 2013 meeting at New York City's Time Warner Center, a meeting that also included Razak and an unidentified "senior Goldman official" - ignoring the bank's warnings about Low. Back in 2009, Leissner had leveraged his connections with Low to arrange his first meeting with Razak, a meeting that eventually helped him close on the 1MDB bond deal. At the time, Goldman and other US banks were digging out of the hole created by the financial crisis, and were desperate for business.
Leissner tried everything to try and polish Low's reputation by finding a company for 1MDB to buy. Leissner also tried to convince Goldman to hire Razak's children for coveted Goldman internships in direct violation of a US law prohibiting banks from hiring relatives of senior foreign officials (JPM paid out a nine-figure penalty for violating this law back in 2016 during the so-called "princelings" scandal, where the bank hired the children of Chinese Communist Party officials).
The type of plea agreement signed by Leissner, known as a "criminal information" suggests that he will likely cooperate with authorities.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, who are running the probe, likely have a broader view. Leissner’s admission of bribery and laundering conspiracy came in a document called a criminal information, which often suggests a cooperation deal with authorities. If that’s the case, Leissner could be a crucial guide for global investigations into how a majority of the $6.5 billion raised by Goldman Sachs, ostensibly to promote development in Malaysia, was allegedly diverted in one of the largest plunderings of public funds in history.
And Goldman, which has said that it believed the money raised in the 1MDB bond offerings would be spent on development projects, last week put its former co-head of investment banking, Andrea Vella, on leave.

The latest documents may mean Goldman Sachs’s reckoning over the 1MDB affair is far from over. On Thursday, the bank placed Andrea Vella, its former co-head of investment banking, on leave. Court documents unsealed earlier in the day said an unidentified Goldman official in Asia conspired with Leissner, Low and another then-Goldman banker, Roger Ng, and had knowledge that bribes were being paid. Prosecutors’ description of the official lines up with that of Vella, who couldn’t be reached for comment.
But it's very possible that Vella might not be the final link in the chain. The sheer magnitude and complexity of the 1MDB fraud is staggering.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/doj-investigates-mystery-goldman-executive-involved-45-billion-1mdb-fraud

Zippyjuan
11-04-2018, 11:28 PM
Trump hired several Goldman Sachs people for his administration.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/10/15/government-sachs-and-trump-administration


We are witnessing what may be a new Golden Age for Goldman Sachs. After running a campaign in which he lambasted the “corrupt” ties between Wall Street and Washington, President Trump has handed the job of shaping economic policy over to Wall Street insiders generally, and to alumni of Goldman Sachs in particular. These appointments add up to a level of inside influence that is unusual even by Goldman’s historic standards. And future picks could produce even more Goldman influence.

In choosing Gary Cohn as National Economic Council Director and Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, along with Jay Clayton at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Trump has turned to Wall Street veterans with deep knowledge of the financial crisis—knowledge gained as champions of the dangerous practices that helped cause it.

Zippyjuan
11-04-2018, 11:45 PM
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/leaked-emails-showed-jho-lows-associates-talks-trump-ally-drop-1mdb-probe-us75-mil


Leaked emails showed Jho Low's associates in talks with Trump ally to drop 1MDB probe for US$75 mil

SINGAPORE (Mar 2): Low Taek Jho is said to have been in multimillion-dollar negotiations with Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser and ally of United States President Donald Trump, to make the probe into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal disappear.

In a series of leaked emails dated last year, Broidy and his wife, Robin Rosenzweig, appear to have discussed setting up a consulting contract with Low to help put an end to US investigations into the multibillion-dollar scandal involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, according to The Wall Street Journal.

These emails included draft agreements between representatives of the Malaysian businessman, better known as Jho Low, and Rosenzweig's California law firm.

In March 2017, Rosenzweig is reported to have emailed an unsigned draft agreement stipulating various terms, including a US$75 million fee in exchange for help to get the US Department of Justice to drop its civil-asset forfeiture lawsuits within 180 days.

However, later messages in the email chain are said to reveal that the parties could not come to an agreement even two months later in May.

According to reports, the delay was due to 1MDB mastermind Low not wanting to pay Rosenzweig directly, but instead through his friend and former hip-hop star, Pras Michel.

Along with the contract drafts, the leaked emails are said to have included talking points for Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak ahead of his visit to Washington in 2017.

In one email dated Aug 7, 2017, Broidy is alleged to have sent an email to a colleague in his venture capital firm, outlining how Najib should approach his White House visit.

Carrying the subject line "Malaysia Talking Points *Final*", the talking points included making it clear that Malaysia fully backed US efforts to isolate North Korea.

The list is said to have also referenced US investigations into 1MDB, which “has cause unnecessary tensions… and could cause a negative reaction among Malaysians”, according to WSJ.

Chris Clark, a lawyer for Broidy and Rosenzweig, confirmed in a statement that Rosenzweig's law firm, Colfax Law Office Inc., was engaged by Michel "to provide strategic advice as part of a broader team to Mr Low."

More at link.

Zippyjuan
11-04-2018, 11:56 PM
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/414303-doj-charges-malaysian-financier-tied-to-christie-trump-lawyer


DOJ charges Malaysian financier tied to Christie, Trump lawyer

The Department of Justice announced charges on Thursday against a Malaysian financier accused of using money from a state-owned fund to bribe Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials and to pay for luxury goods in the U.S.

The department charged Low Taek Jho, 36, also known as Jho Low, with three counts in connection to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scheme, which has embroiled multiple Malaysian officials.

Low also allegedly used money from the funds to pay for real estate, art and to fund production of movies like "The Wolf of Wall Street."

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Low may have made payments using the laundered funds to a team of attorneys including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and to Marc Kasowitz, who has worked as President Trump's lawyer at the Trump Organization.

Swordsmyth
11-08-2018, 06:26 PM
Last week, the DOJ filed the first round (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/doj-investigates-mystery-goldman-executive-involved-45-billion-1mdb-fraud)of criminal charges related to the massive international fraud that was the 1MDB scandal.
US prosecutors alleged that more than $4.5 billion was embezzled from the sovereign wealth fund, which was set up by the government of disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak, eventually leading the ransacked government fund to a default on nearly $2 billion of local currency bonds, briefly denting the value of the Malaysian ringgit. Holders of those bonds are still working on a restructuring deal with the fund.
Meanwhile, former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia Chief Tim Leissner has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is expected to cooperate with authorities against other more-senior officials at the bank. One of his fellow bankers, Roger Ng, was arrested by Malaysian police and is expected to be extradited to the US, although as we reported this morning, Ng is fighting said extradition (for a full breakdown of the latest events, see this post (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/doj-investigates-mystery-goldman-executive-involved-45-billion-1mdb-fraud)).
What was perhaps even more curious about the DOJ complaint, was the reference of a "senior Goldman official" who was instrumental and involved in Goldman's establishing of close ties with both 1MDB and the Razak government, ties which would eventually allow Goldman to issue $6 billion in three issue in bonds underwritten by Goldman which netted $600 million in fees for the bank.
And, as we added over the weekend (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/doj-investigates-mystery-goldman-executive-involved-45-billion-1mdb-fraud), all of this is happening at a terrible time for Goldman" which recently underwent a leadership transition, with longtime former CEO Lloyd Blankfein handing the reins to John Solomon, who is best known for moonlighting as a DJ.

And as the breadth of the scandal - and the likelihood that the bank's most senior employees may have looked the other way (though, to be sure, Blankfein has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Goldman's role) - becomes increasingly apparent, the timing of Blankfein's exit is looking more and more suspect.
And now we now know why, because it now appears that our veiled reference that Blankfein may have been the unnamed senior Goldman official, was in fact accurate.
In a new report, Bloomberg writes that years before Goldman Sachs arranged bond deals now at the heart of globe-spanning corruption probes, "the firm’s then-CEO Lloyd Blankfein personally helped forge ties with Malaysia and its new sovereign wealth fund."
But much more importantly, Blankfein was the unidentified "mystery" high-ranking Goldman Sachs executive referenced in U.S. court documents who attended a 2009 meeting with the former Malaysian prime minister, Bloomberg's sources said. And what's worse, the meeting was arranged with the help of men who are now tied to the subsequent plundering of the 1MDB fund, according to U.S. court documents unsealed last week.

The meeting at the Four Seasons hotel in New York was set up and attended by two key figures in the 1MDB scandal, Malaysian businessman Jho Low and former Goldman partner Tim Leissner, one person with direct knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
It was this high level gathering - which was also attended by then Goldman CEO Blankfein - that laid the groundwork for a relationship that would prove extremely profitable for the investment bank.
While a Goldman spokesman refused to comment to Bloomberg on Blankfein's behalf, the bank has repeatedly said it knew nothing about any corruption, and simply believed proceeds of debt sales it underwrote "were for development projects" and then threw Leissner under the bus, accusing the former Goldman partner of withholding information from the firm.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-08/blankfein-was-mystery-goldman-exec-present-during-1mdb-meeting-noted-doj

Swordsmyth
11-12-2018, 07:37 PM
Goldman Sachs is down over 10% in the last two days as 1MDB deal drama comes back to bite them. (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/doj-investigates-mystery-goldman-executive-involved-45-billion-1mdb-fraud)
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018-11-12_8-32-41.png
As Bloomberg reports, Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the nation is seeking a full refund of all the fees it paid to Goldman Sachs for arranging billions of dollars of deals for troubled state fund 1MDB.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018-11-12_8-41-20.png
Goldman has “admitted culpability” (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-08/blankfein-was-mystery-goldman-exec-present-during-1mdb-meeting-noted-doj) after former banker Tim Leissner entered a guilty plea for his role in the scandal, Lim said in a Monday interview with radio station BFM. Lim is banking on the firm’s “indirect” admission of wrongdoing and U.S. law against kleptocracy, to help Malaysia recoup fees that include nearly $600 million that it paid Goldman for three bond deals. Goldman Sachs hasn’t publicly admitted any wrongdoing and has said it’s cooperating with authorities.

Seems like Mr. Blankfein jumped ship right in time. (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-08/blankfein-was-mystery-goldman-exec-present-during-1mdb-meeting-noted-doj)


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-12/goldman-crashes-2-year-lows-malaysia-seeks-full-refund-1mdb-deals

Swordsmyth
11-21-2018, 06:46 PM
In a sign that Goldman clients are taking their business elsewhere, Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co. and Aabar Investments PJS filed a lawsuit against Goldman in a New York court seeking unspecified damages over the bank's "central role" in 1MDB, according to the Wall Street Journal. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/sovereign-fund-sues-goldman-sachs-over-1mdb-scandal-1542811084?mod=hp_lead_pos2) Both IPIC, a UAE sovereign wealth fund, claim they were harmed by Goldman when the bank bribed former managing director Khadem Al-Qubaisi and former Aabar Investments CEO Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny to help set up IPIC as an investment partner to 1MDB.

"Goldman Sachs conspired with others to bribe IPIC’s and Aabar’s former executives," the court filing said, referring to IPIC’s subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS.
As WSJ pointed out in its reporting about the new lawsuit, which followed a petition filed by Malaysia asking the DOJ to help it recoup all of the $600 million in fees (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-13/malaysian-prime-minister-obviously-we-have-been-cheated-goldman-sachs) (plus an interest-rate differential) that it paid Goldman for the bond issues that helped seed 1MDB, the reputation damage could inspire sovereign wealth funds run by some of the UAE's neighbors to take their business elsewhere as well.

The move is a sign that the 1MDB scandal, a reputational black eye for Goldman, could spill over into its banking business. IPIC and its successor, Mubadala Investment Co., are longtime investment-banking clients, having hired Goldman for years to advise on and raise money for deals.
Any moves by Abu Dhabi to shift business away from Goldman could influence other governments in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, where it has a strong voice, according to people familiar with the bank’s regional business.
Even before news of this lawsuit broke, Goldman's shares were already the worst-performing US banking stock of the year, and questions about the involvement of senior executives (including former CEO Lloyd Blankfein (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-08/blankfein-was-mystery-goldman-exec-present-during-1mdb-meeting-noted-doj)) raised the possibility that the DOJ's prosecution could go well beyond the two bankers that have already been arrested and charged (one of whom, Goldman's former Southeast Asia chief Tim Leissner, has agreed to cooperate (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-01/ex-goldman-banker-will-plead-guilty-charges-related-1mdb-scandal)). Given that Goldman (and most of the big investment banks) rarely face this level of public backlash over their misdeeds, it's hardly surprising that the bank's biggest rival Morgan Stanley indulged in some well-deserved schadenfreude when its equity analysts downgraded Goldman's shares and cut their rating to equal weight (with a price target of $226 a share, representing a nearly 20% upside to where Goldman's stock is currently trading). In its analysis, Morgan warned about other potential lawsuits related to 1MDB, according to CNBC. (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/21/goldman-sachs-downgraded-by-morgan-stanley-until-malaysian-1mdb-scandal-is-resolved.html)

"It is unclear how long the issue will take to resolve, what the fines and penalties could be, and what costs Goldman Sachs will subsequently incur to satisfy any demands from regulators," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck. "These risks, coupled with potential headline risks in the coming months (additional lawsuits, additional regulatory probes, internal reviews), drive our Equal-weight rating."
Indeed, with so many parties involved (investors in 1MDB's bonds were left holding the bag when the fund defaulted), it's unlikely that Goldman's legal troubles will end here.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-21/abu-dhabi-sovereign-wealth-fund-sues-goldman-1mdb-inspired-client-exodus-begins

Swordsmyth
11-22-2018, 02:50 PM
Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has said he has "no recollection" of meeting corrupt Malaysian financier Jho Low. Maybe this will jog his memory.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018.11.22blankfein.JPG
Following reports published earlier this month that Blankfein attended two meetings with Low - an "introductory meeting" in 2009 and another meeting at the Mandarin Hotel in New York in 2013 with about 20 other Goldman bankers (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-08/blankfein-was-mystery-goldman-exec-present-during-1mdb-meeting-noted-doj) (now-jailed ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak also attended these meetings) - the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/business/goldman-blankfein-1mdb-malaysia.html) on Thursday published a report revealing that Blankfein's involvement in securing 1MDB's business for the bank was even deeper than previously believed.
Back in December 2012, when the bank was still struggling with the legal fallout from its predatory sales of mortgage-backed securities during the run-up to the financial crisis, Blankfein met privately with Low at Goldman's headquarters in Lower Manhattan, according to three anonymous sources purportedly familiar with the details of the meeting, the NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/business/goldman-blankfein-1mdb-malaysia.html) reported. The meeting occurred after the bank's compliance department had already objected to involving Low in any of its business dealings.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/jho%20low.jpg
Of course, nearly six years later, Low is now international fugitive, accused of being the mastermind in a multibillion-dollar fraud involving a Malaysian government investment fund.
Needless to say, this is problematic for the recently retired Blankfein, who left the bank on Oct. 1, coincidentally just one month before the DOJ started handing down indictments (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-01/ex-goldman-banker-will-plead-guilty-charges-related-1mdb-scandal) to Goldman bankers, one of whom has agreed to cooperate against the bank).
Why? Because it undercuts the bank's PR line that the bribes paid in furtherance of a massive money laundering scheme were the work of a handful of "rogue employees." The meeting was described as a "one-on-one" sitdown between Blankfein and the corrupt Malaysian banker, who reportedly played a central role in bribing officials in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Prosecutors in Malaysia and the US are looking to indict Low for his involvement in the fraud. The banker is currently on the run, living in an undisclosed location while he wages an expensive PR campaign to clear his name (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/business/jho-low-1mdb-influence-campaign.html).
A PR rep for Blankfein confirmed that he did meet with Low, but that the meeting in question wasn't one-on-one. Instead, the spokesman said Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny, the head of an Abu Dhabi investment fund (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-21/abu-dhabi-sovereign-wealth-fund-sues-goldman-1mdb-inspired-client-exodus-begins) that is now suing Goldman over its involvement with 1MDB, also attended the meeting.

A Goldman spokesman, Jake Siewert, said that Mr. Blankfein had a meeting with Mr. Low on Dec. 14, 2012, but that it was also attended by Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny, who ran an Abu Dhabi investment fund, Aabar. "Mr. Blankfein had an introductory, high-level meeting in December 2012 with the C.E.O. of Aabar, which was an existing client of the firm," Mr. Siewert said. "At Aabar’s request, Mr. Low accompanied the C.E.O. to that meeting."
In the three years between the 2009 and 2012 meetings with Low, Goldman's compliance department raised multiple red flags surrounding the source of his mysterious wealth. However, Blankfein's staff ignored these warnings.

In the three years before the 2012 meeting, the bank’s compliance staff had repeatedly rejected Mr. Low’s attempts to become a Goldman client because it was unclear how he had amassed his wealth.
But when Mr. Blankfein’s aides sought information about Mr. Low in preparation for the meeting, a senior investment banker in Asia praised Mr. Low and did not mention the compliance concerns, according to a person who has reviewed internal Goldman emails about the meeting.
Nor did the compliance red flags stop the bank from doing extensive business with 1MDB, which Malaysia’s prime minister had set up in 2008 ostensibly to invest in infrastructure and other projects to improve Malaysians’ daily lives. Goldman ultimately helped 1MDB sell more than $6 billion in bonds to investors, earning about $600 million in fees.
[...]
From the start, Goldman’s relationship with 1MDB unsettled some bank employees, according to interviews with current and former Goldman officials and a person involved in government investigations into the bank. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the criminal investigation.
Goldman’s internal compliance team, known as the business intelligence group, had repeatedly blocked Mr. Low from opening an account with the bank’s elite private client group, citing concerns about the source of his money, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors.
The compliance team also identified Mr. Low as someone Goldman should avoid working with on any 1MDB transactions, according to the court documents.
What's more, Low's name didn't appear on any of the three bond deals that Goldman secured for 1MDB. But according to Tim Leissner's plea agreement (Leissner is the former Goldman Southeast Asia chief who purportedly spearheaded the 1MDB deals), it was widely known - including, apparently, by Blankfein himself - that Low was a "key intermediary" in all three deals.
The Times also reported details about the efforts of one former Goldman executive, David Ryan, to stop the 1MDB deals over concerns about corruption and oversight. However, Goldman, which had long been weaker in Asia than many of its rivals, pushed ahead, and Ryan was overruled by Blankfein and senior Goldman executive Stephen Scherr, who is now the bank's chief financial officer.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-22/goldmans-blankfein-met-privately-corrupt-malaysian-banker-center-1mdb-probe

Swordsmyth
12-04-2018, 06:28 PM
If there was any doubt that Goldman Sachs' compliance controls "don't work very well", (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-13/malaysian-prime-minister-obviously-we-have-been-cheated-goldman-sachs) as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wryly stated during an interview with CNBC last month, this should put it to rest. And as the Vampire Squid's lax compliance standards (the bank's compliance department was unwilling or unable to stop then-CEO Lloyd Blankfein from holding a one-on-one sit down with a shady Malaysian financier accused of stealing billions from the sovereign wealth fund, all in the name of landing a lucrative deal) have emerged as a focal point in a DOJ investigation into the bank's conduct.
On Tuesday Bloomberg highlighted another troubling detail that raises questions about when the bank's willingness to circumvent its own internal controls to win deals of placate valuable clients.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018.12.04goldman.JPG
According to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-04/misfired-goldman-trade-in-2016-involved-firm-faulted-over-1mdb), investigators are looking into a mysterious transaction involving Goldman and Falcon Bank, a Singapore-based bank that was implicated by Singaporean authorities for allegedly helping to launder money stolen from 1MDB.
Goldman suffered "unexpected losses" during the trade after Singaporean regulators shuttered Falcon Bank over its role in the 1MDB theft.

An obscure Swiss bank implicated in Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption scandal was involved in another trade with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in 2016 that exposed the Wall Street firm to unexpected losses. Falcon Private Bank had been a key player in the 1MDB drama since the end of 2015, when it first surfaced as a suspected conduit for hundreds of millions of dollars siphoned from Malaysia’s investment fund. By July of 2016, Singapore regulators found "substantial" breaches of money-laundering regulations at Falcon.
Yet even after Singapore accused Falcon during the summer of 2016 of helping to facilitate the 1MDB fraud, Goldman ignored the warnings and entered into a trade with the bank at the behest of a valuable client. But Falcon stiffed its Wall Street peer after regulators forced Falcon out of business, leaving Goldman with an $800 million hole. Investigators are trying to figure out why such a large trade with an obscure and tainted counterparty was allowed to be executed.

By July of 2016, Singapore regulators found "substantial" breaches of money-laundering regulations at Falcon. Yet weeks later, Goldman Sachs entered into a trade with Falcon at the urging of controversial businessman Lars Windhorst, people with knowledge of the matter said. Now, Falcon’s role in that trade is emerging at an uncomfortable time for Goldman Sachs. Regulators investigating 1MDB are said to be looking at how Goldman’s moneymakers allegedly dodged internal controls while helping the Malaysian fund amass more than $6 billion. The Falcon deal prompts a further question: why a sizable trade with an obscure firm mired in a money-laundering probe didn’t trip alarms.
Goldman was briefly exposed to massive losses as a result of the trade, and responded by firing a junior executive who later sued the bank, arguing that he was "scapegoated" by higher ups who had pressured him to make the deal. This is how the transaction became part of the public record.
Chris Rollins, the executive who was fired for his role in the trade, said Goldman's compliance department wouldn't allow traders to deal directly with Lars Windhorst, so Windhorst suggested that Rollins deal with Falcon instead. Singaporean authorities yanked Falcon's license after its role in the scandal was exposed. Goldman has disputed Rollins' account, saying that Rollins knew the bank had "misgivings" about the transaction.
But that still doesn't explain how and why the transaction wasn't blocked - which is particularly relevant after the New York Fed reportedly pressured Goldman to "tighten up" its internal controls (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-26/ny-fed-demanded-goldman-improve-compliance-controls-after-1mdb-bond-offerings) after the first 1MDB deal closed.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-04/goldman-nearly-lost-800-million-during-trade-wth-indicted-1mdb-linked-bank

Brian4Liberty
12-04-2018, 08:27 PM
Criminal organizations gonna crime...

Swordsmyth
12-17-2018, 03:54 PM
In an unprecedented move that possibly foreshadows similar charges from the US DOJ - and lots of headaches for the "recently retired" Lloyd Blankfein - the Malaysian attorney general has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs - targeting two of the investment bank's Asian subsidiaries and two former Goldman bankers who have already been charged by the US (former Southeast Asia head Tim Leissner and banker Roger Ng (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-01/ex-goldman-banker-will-plead-guilty-charges-related-1mdb-scandal)) and accusing the investment bank of violating the country's securities laws by lying in bond agreements for three deals that raised $6.5 billion for 1MDB, aMalaysian sovereign wealth fund formed under former Prime Minister Najib Razak that US authorities believe was looted for upwards of $4 billion by corrupt bankers and officials.
While authorities in Singapore, Switzerland and elsewhere had already filed criminal charges against various banks involved with the scandal last year, the first charges against Goldman and its employees over their involvement in the scandal materialized two months ago when the DOJ indicted Leissner and Ng.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-17/malaysia-files-criminal-fraud-charges-against-goldman-sachs

Itsback
12-17-2018, 05:14 PM
Just shut down such greedy and criminal giant companies/organisations. Those MBAs and CAs. Close down those MBA and CA colleges.

devil21
12-17-2018, 05:42 PM
Probably Blankfein himself.

Swordsmyth
12-18-2018, 03:17 PM
As the legal scrutiny facing the infamous "Vampire Squid" intensifies (and the bank's shares languish at two-year lows), slowly but surely, more details about the compliance shortcuts and - in some cases, outright negligence - countenanced by Goldman's most senior employees during the bank's pursuit of the 1MDB bond offerings that have landed Goldman at the center of one of the biggest financial fraud scandals in history are slowly dribbling out.
And in its latest expose, the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-ignored-1mdb-warning-signs-in-pursuit-of-asian-business-11545088802), which helped expose the scandal back in 2015 with a series of groundbreaking reports connecting money in a bank account controlled by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to the bankrupt fund, has published more details about how Goldman partners - who have traditionally been given wide latitude to operate without restraint - enabled the bank's top bankers in Southeast Asia to work out a deal where Goldman would act as both financier and advisor for the fund, ignoring concerns about corruption raised by the bank's compliance committee.


The first allowances were reportedly made during a meeting of senior partners in Hong Kong in 2012 where they vetted the deal. Among the concerns highlighted were "media scrutiny" due to 1MDB's lack of a track record and the potential for - get this - corruption.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s push for Asian business and lax oversight of partners led the bank to dismiss warning signs in its dealings with a corrupt Malaysian investment fund, internal documents and interviews with people involved in the transactions show.
When the fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., first sought Goldman’s help raising money, the bond deal came before a committee of senior bankers in Hong Kong in 2012 for a key round of vetting. Among the concerns sketched out in the meeting’s agenda: “potential media and political scrutiny,” Goldman’s unusual role as both financier and adviser, the colossal profit earned on what should have been a modest transaction—and how much of that haul would need to be disclosed. Not up for discussion: the young fund’s scant track record.
The deal happened anyway. It has ensnared Goldman in one of the largest financial frauds in history and darkened the early days of its new chief executive, David Solomon.
All of this cuts against Goldman's argument that a handful of "rogue" employees misled the bank into pursuing the extremely profitable deal to help enrich themselves. Tim Leissner, the former Goldman partner who organized the 1MDB deal, has admitted to stealing $200 million from 1MDB to bribe government officials to ensure that Goldman won the fund's business. But details reported by WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-ignored-1mdb-warning-signs-in-pursuit-of-asian-business-11545088802) reveal that Leissner was abetted by the bank's senior partners, who endorsed Leissner's relentless pursuit of the deal as a crucial win for the bank, which worried that it was falling behind in Asia.
Andrea Vella, another Goldman partner who has been placed 'on leave' by the bank, is also in the crosshairs of the DOJ over suspicions that he was aware of the potential for corruption inside 1MDB, but continued to help Leissner circumvent Goldman's internal controls.

A second Goldman partner, Andrea Vella, led the structuring of the 1MDB deals and was put on leave after Mr. Leissner’s guilty plea. Prosecutors allege he knew bribes were being paid and helped Mr. Leissner circumvent Goldman’s controls. He hasn’t been charged with a crime and his attorney disputed the allegations.
A committee of partners tipped off Leissner about issues that compliance was planning to raise about the deal. Correspondence from one compliance official revealed that the bank could overlook concerns surrounding disgraced Malaysian financier Jho Low's involvement in another deal (Low is a fugitive from justice after being charged by Malaysian and US prosecutors with masterminding the fraud, and is believed to be hiding in China) so long as Low played "a minor role."

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-18/goldman-partners-ignored-red-flags-while-pursuing-1mdb-deals-wsj

Swordsmyth
12-19-2018, 06:44 PM
"Bring me Goldman Sachs!"
As outlandish as it might sound, Malaysian authorities are in the process of dragging the bank - or at least, some of its employees and subsidiaries - to Malaysia to face criminal charges filed against subsidiaries of the bank, as well as two senior bankers (who have also been indicted in the US), over charges alleging that the bank lied in its bond covenants with the intention of misleading investors in the three bond issuances it handled for 1MDB, and that Goldman knew corrupt Malaysian officials were preparing to loot 1MDB, the sovereign wealth fund at the center of one of history's largest money laundering scandals, but chose to pursue the deals anyway.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018.12.19goldman.JPG
In a guide to how the criminal charges filed yesterday against three subsidiaries of the bank and two of its employees, Bloomberg explained that Malaysian prosecutor M Kurup, who has been tasked with overseeing the case, isn't playing around. "We want Goldman Sachs here," he said.
Malaysian trials are similar to the English common law system (upon which they are based):

Criminal court proceedings are public and open to all, barring exceptions made by a judge or a court gag order. (Najib’s lawyers have sought such an order for his case to prevent a “trial by media.”) Malaysia’s legal system won’t be altogether alien to western companies and lawyers, since it’s fashioned on English common law. (Malaysia gained independence from Britain in the 1950s.) So there’s a presumption of innocence for defendants and a requirement by prosecutors to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt. Goldman’s cases would be tried by a judge, highlighting one difference from English law: Malaysia scrapped juries in 1995. The seriousness of the charges -- which carry fines for businesses and jail terms of up to 10 years and fines for individuals -- means defendants are required to attend. A trial might be delayed or lengthened if the prosecution attempts to subpoena overseas-based personnel. "We want Goldman Sachs here," said Malaysia’s prosecutor M Kurup.
The bank will be given the opportunity to make its defense - namely, that it was misled by corrupt Malaysian officials.

Goldman said the charges came without a chance for the firm to provide its view. "Certain members of the former Malaysian government and 1MDB lied to Goldman Sachs, outside counsel and others about the use of proceeds from these transactions," the bank said in a statement. "1MDB, whose CEO and board reported directly to the prime minister at the time, also provided written assurances to Goldman Sachs for each transaction that no intermediaries were involved." According to Nizam Ismail, a partner at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing LLP in Singapore, a criminal conviction against one or more Goldman units could “affect their status as fit and proper persons” and impact their standings as licensed entities. "Regulators that are regulating Goldman entities worldwide will be watching developments in Malaysia closely," he said. In the U.S., criminal convictions against banks used to be considered a death sentence, but they’ve become common-place after a flurry of currency-rigging cases.
But perhaps the most concerning aspect of this criminal case is the possible culpability of senior Goldman executives, including CEO David Solomon and CFO Stephen Scherr, both of whom were involved with the committees of senior partners who signed off on the deal. Unlike previous Goldman scandals, 1MDB is unique in that it originated with Goldman's investment bank - not its trading desk, which is notorious for ripping off the faces of clients, according to CNBC. (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/17/as-goldmans-1mdb-mess-deepens-insiders-doubt-the-firms-rogue-banker-defense.html)


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-19/we-want-goldman-sachs-here-malaysias-playbook-prosecuting-1mdb-case

Swordsmyth
12-21-2018, 07:23 PM
Malaysia is seeking a massive financial penalty from Goldman Sachs after filing criminal charges against the bank (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-17/malaysia-files-criminal-fraud-charges-against-goldman-sachs) alleging that it lied in deal documents and knowing enabled Malaysian government officials and one corrupt financier to steal billions of dollars from the Malaysian people through 1MDB, the sovereign wealth fund that is at the center of one of the biggest financial frauds in history.
In comments to the Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/11572a34-045e-11e9-9d01-cd4d49afbbe3) published Friday, Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Goldman should pay reparations in excess of $7.5 billion in connection with three bond deals it underwrote for 1MDB (deals that netted the bank a staggering $600 million in fees, well above the typical 1% to 2% fees that are typically collected in these types of deals). The $7.5 billion figure is the largest floated so far by Malaysia, which has charged three of the bank's Asian subsidiaries, as well as two Goldman bankers, in its criminal probe into 1MDB.


The $7.5 billion figure includes the entire $600 million fee collected by the bank, the $6.5 billion raised in the offerings (most of which was looted despite being earmarked for 'infrastructure projects') and the spread between the market rate and the above-market coupon on the 10-year 1MDB bonds.
Goldman responded by once again deflecting blame to the Malaysia officials involved with the deal.

"The 1MDB bond offerings were meant to raise money to benefit Malaysia; instead, a huge portion of those funds were stolen for the benefit of members of the Malaysian government and their associates."
At the very least, Lim said Goldman should pay the entirety of the $1.8 billion the bank has set aside for legal expenses stemming from 1MDB.

The finance minister said that reparations from the bank should at the very least be more than $1.8bn — the sum Goldman told investors it had set aside to face potential losses related to 1MDB legal proceedings, in addition to the money it had previously earmarked for such matters.
"Their figure is $1.8bn. Ours is $7.5bn," Lim said.
Malaysia's attorney general, Tommy Thomas, said when the criminal charges were first unveiled that the bank should pay reparations "well in excess" of the $2.7 billion Malaysia says was embezzled from the fund (the DOJ has used a much higher figure, $4.5 billion), along with the $600 million fee.
But this wasn't the only bad news for Goldman and its CEO David Solomon, whose role in the scandal is under scrutiny since it came to light that he had served on one of the partner committees that helped greenlight the 1MDB deals (while his predecessor, Lloyd Blankfein, reportedly participated in meetings with Malaysia's former prime minister - who is facing criminal charges from his role in the fraud - and even held a one-on-one sit down with Jho Low, the fugitive financier who helped organize the deals).
Singapore has reportedly expanded its probe into the fraud to examine the role of Goldman's local subsidiary in fund flows related to the deal, according to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-21/singapore-said-to-expand-1mdb-criminal-probe-to-include-goldman?srnd=premium). The investigation "opens a potential new battle front for Goldman" which is already fighting authorities in the US and Malaysia.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-21/malaysia-demands-goldman-pay-75b-1mdb-reparations

Swordsmyth
01-07-2019, 07:26 PM
In the waning months of his administration, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was desperate to stave off the bankruptcy of1MDB, the sovereign wealth fund that Razak and members of his inner circle looted (allegedly with the help of Goldman Sachs). So, he turned to an unlikely source of funding to bail out the fund - signing away rights to some of his country's most valuable resources in the process.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2019.01.07chinatwo.JPG
The source? China. Employing financier Jho Low as an intermediary, Razak worked out an arrangement with the Chinese government whereby Razak's government would grant state-owned Chinese enterprises lucrative stakes in Malaysian railway and pipelines projects in exchange for $34 billion - more than enough to clear the shortfall in 1MDB, and then some.

By 2016, Mr. Najib was in a bind because the fund had borrowed $13 billion it couldn’t repay. He turned to Jho Low—a Malaysian financier the U.S. Justice Department has alleged was the mastermind of a multibillion-dollar theft of 1MDB funds—to negotiate with China to resolve the crisis, according to current and former Malaysian officials.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Razak offered the Chinese an invaluable cherry on top of the sweetheart deal. Permission to dock Chinese Navy ships in two Malaysian ports - a "significant concession" that would push Malaysia undeniably into the orbit of Beijing.

Mr. Najib also embarked on secret talks with China’s leadership to let Chinese navy ships dock at two Malaysian ports, say two people familiar with the discussions. Such permission would have been a significant concession to Beijing, which seeks greater influence across contested waters of the South China Sea, but it didn’t come to pass.
The projects - and the port permissions - were swiftly incorporated into China's ambitious "One Belt, One Road" initiative - a series of infrastructure projects across Europe, Asia and Africa to fill in gaps in railway and pipeline infrastructure (and help cement China's influence across the developing world).
The WSJ, (https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-china-flexes-its-political-muscle-to-expand-power-overseas-11546890449?mod=hp_lead_pos5) which cited documents and minutes from meetings between Malaysian and Chinese officials in its report, described the projects as one of the most egregious examples of what China's critics have derided as "debt trap diplomacy" - extending credit to desperate countries in exchange for rights to key strategic resources that can be applied to BRI.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2019.01.07china.JPG
US national security officials who spoke with WSJ on the condition of anonymity described the Malaysia deal as one of China's most ambitious attempts to leverage state-backed financing to cement its geostrategic advantage.

A Journal examination of the China-Malaysia projects, based on documents and interviews with current and former Malaysian officials, offers one of the most detailed accounts to date of the political forces at work behind China’s Belt and Road program, a signature initiative of building ports, railways, roads and pipelines in some 70 countries to generate trade and business for Chinese companies.
U.S. officials say China is using the program to increase its sway over developing nations and trap them in debt while advancing its military aims. Several countries, including Pakistan and the Maldives, have been reviewing One Belt, One Road projects amid allegations some deals unfairly advanced Beijing’s interests.
What's more, minutes from the meetings revealed that China and Razak tried to cover up the prime minister's intentions, saying the deals must be portrayed as "market-driven" instead of "political" in nature.
The minutes also revealed that the projects were a fount of corruption, with valuations of the deals priced at above-market rates so that some of the money could be diverted for "other needs."
By 2017, the money had already started flowing through China's Export-Import Bank and into the coffers of 1MDB.

Documents reviewed by the Journal show Malaysian officials suggested that some of the infrastructure projects be financed at above-market values, generating excess cash for other needs. Investigators from the current Malaysian government, which replaced Mr. Najib’s last year, believe some of the money helped Mr. Najib finance his political activities and cover maturing debts of 1MDB, a fund he set up in 2009 to finance local development.
Mr. Najib was aware of the 2016 Malaysian-Chinese meetings, according to people familiar with them. Asked about them, the former prime minister issued a statement saying the rail project would have brought tens of thousands of jobs to Malaysia and stating that under his leadership, the country experienced nine years of continuous economic growth.
[...]
A month later, the Malaysians proposed that Chinese state companies instead make payments that would “indirectly be used to repay 1MDB debt,” according to meeting minutes.
Notes of a discussion on Sept. 22, 2016, say the sides agreed to move ahead with the infrastructure deals even though “they may not have strong project financials.”
Participants needn’t “waste time studying the actual project financials to see if they can sustain the debt etc.,” because Malaysia’s government backed the deals for strategic reasons, the documents say.
Notes from that meeting said Malaysia was working to enhance bilateral ties, citing support Mr. Najib voiced for China’s position in the South China Sea during a regional summit in Laos.
Two months later, Mr. Najib went to Beijing and signed the deals. Together with other projects, they made Malaysia the second-biggest recipient of One Belt, One Road funding after Pakistan.
Money was flowing by the middle of 2017 as the Export-Import Bank of China issued the first loans. By fall the bank had paid out 80% of the $2.5 billion pledged to state-owned China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau to build the pipeline, although little work had been done, according to Malaysian officials.
The story shed some light on one of the enduring mysteries of the 1DB scandal: how Low has managed to evade US and Malaysian prosecutors. Per WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-china-flexes-its-political-muscle-to-expand-power-overseas-11546890449?mod=hp_lead_pos5), he has been hiding out in China under Beijing's protection.
In another interesting detail, WSJ reportedly confirmed that the Chinese government had ordered increased surveillance of WSJ's reporters in Hong Kong who were working on the story.

At a meeting the next day, Sun Lijun, then head of China’s domestic-security force, confirmed that China’s government was surveilling the Journal in Hong Kong at Malaysia’s request, including “full scale residence/office/device tapping, computer/phone/web data retrieval, and full operational surveillance,” according to a Malaysian summary of that meeting.
China worked hard on behalf of Razak during his reelection campaign. But it wasn't enough, and instead former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, who is in his 90s, prevailed. He is now struggling to renegotiate Razak's deals with the Chinese. Meanwhile, Razak is facing corruption charges and will likely head to trial later this year. And Mahathir is struggling to renegotiate some of his predecessors deals.
In summary, one of the biggest financial frauds in Asian history was facilitated with the cooperation of the Chinese Communist Party and Goldman Sachs.



https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-07/explosive-wsj-report-exposes-chinas-role-1mdb-scandal

Swordsmyth
01-18-2019, 03:12 PM
The Malaysian government has a message for Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon: Your disingenuous, blame-deflecting apology for Goldman's role in one of the biggest financial frauds ever perpetrated in Asia isn't going to cut it.
According to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-18/malaysia-may-discuss-dropping-goldman-s-charges-for-7-5-billion), Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told reporters on Friday that Malaysian prosecutors might consider dropping the criminal charges brought last month (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-17/malaysia-files-criminal-fraud-charges-against-goldman-sachs) against the bank, several Asian subsidiaries and two of its employees (who have also been indicted in the US) if the bank agrees to pay back the total amount that the Malaysian government believes was looted during the fraud.


That amount? A staggering $7.5 billion.

"Goldman Sachs should understand the agony and the trauma suffered by the Malaysian people as a result of the 1MDB scandal," Lim said in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. "An apology is just not sufficient. Not enough. There must be the necessary reparations and compensations."
Earlier this week, Solomon apologized to the Malaysian people during an earnings call with analysts, where he blamed senior banker Tim Leissner (who is now believed to be cooperating with federal authorities to testify about the bank's "culture of corruption") for the scandal and claimed Malaysia was “defrauded by many individuals" who - as was implied - just happened to work at Goldman Sachs.
Lim characterized Solomon's apology as "insufficient", presumably because media reports have revealed that senior Goldman execs, including former CEO Lloyd Blankfein blithely ignored concerns raised by the bank's compliance department and did everything in their power to court Malaysia's business (Blankfein himself was involved in several meetings with then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is now awaiting trial on corruptoin charges, and fugitive financier Jho Low, (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-22/goldmans-blankfein-met-privately-corrupt-malaysian-banker-center-1mdb-probe) who is believed to have masterminded the scheme).
Goldman earned $600 million in fees on the $6.5 billion in bonds it underwrote for 1MDB, which was launched by Razak as a sovereign wealth fund intended to fund public works projects.

"At least he accepted that they have to bear and shoulder some responsibility," Lim said, referring to Solomon. "That apology of course goes some way toward that, but that is insufficient."
While Leissner is cooperating with authorities in the US, his former subordinate, senior Asian banker Roger Ng, is being held in Malaysia.
Of course, Lim, as the country's finance minister, isn't authorized to cut deals with Goldman. That authority is reserved by Attorney General Tommy Thomas, the country's top prosecutor, who brought the criminal case against Goldman.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-18/malaysia-offers-drop-goldmans-1mdb-charges-if-bank-pays-75-billion-fine

Swordsmyth
01-24-2019, 06:56 PM
Malaysia’s police have asked law firms to turn over documents related to 1MDB bond sales that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. arranged, as part of an investigation involving the U.S. lender.Police have raided Rahmat Lim & Partners, the law firm that represented Goldman in the deals, on Thursday morning to search for the documents, The Edge newspaper reported, citing a person it didn’t identify. Saiful Azly Kamaruddin, acting director for the police’s commercial crime investigation department, confirmed the raid.
Rahmat Lim & Partners, which acted as Malaysian legal counsel for Goldman in support of an unnamed U.K. law firm, confirmed that the police came to their offices and said it had already given the police documents that weren’t subject to attorney-client privilege, it said in an emailed statement late Thursday.
“We have provided our fullest cooperation to the police, and remain fully committed to cooperating with them, within the confines of the law,” they said in the note.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/malaysia-police-seek-1mdb-deal-054307429.html

Swordsmyth
01-25-2019, 01:14 AM
Malaysia’s police are seeking Jho Low’s parents and an associate as they widen their search for evidence of possible wrongdoing in their investigation into the scandal-ridden 1MDB.Authorities are calling for information on Low’s parents Low Hock Peng and Goh Gaik Ewe as well as Tan Kim Loong, Low’s associate, the police said in a statement. They are also seeking Shabnam Naraindas Daswani, a Singaporean who is also known as Natasha Mirpuri.
Low’s father and Tan, also known as Eric Tan, have already been named by the police as part of their probe into the state fund, which lies at the center of a massive scandal that has ensnared Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and prompted investigations across the globe. Tan is facing joint charges with Low for allegedly receiving illicit funds, while the police have requested the Interpol’s help to track down Low and his father.

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/malaysia-police-seek-jho-low-044519508.html

Swordsmyth
01-25-2019, 01:15 AM
Malaysian investigators have uncovered details of how fugitive financier Jho Low could have made financial gains from the entity that predated scandal-plagued state fund 1MDB, through a bond sale involving local bankers and a Thai brokerage.Authorities are probing a 5 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) bond sale in 2009 by Terengganu Investment Authority, or TIA, a sovereign wealth fund that later became 1MDB, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators believe that $126 million of illicit funds -- which Low and his associate Eric Tan have been charged with receiving -- came from the deal arranged by AMMB Holdings Bhd., known as AmBank, and involving companies in Thailand and Singapore, said one of the people.
The investigation is focused on tracing money flows that led to Low, as well as officers at TIA and AmBank, who may have abetted Low in the dealings, according to the people. Authorities are looking into whether any individuals concealed or misrepresented statements related to the bond sale and whether any of the funds were misappropriated, the people said, asking not to be named discussing an ongoing probe.

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/malaysia-probes-jho-low-may-100702072.html

Swordsmyth
02-01-2019, 08:56 PM
Since the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/1mdb-scandal-could-hit-pay-for-goldman-execs-including-david-solomon-lloyd-blankfein-11549056979?mod=hp_lead_pos1) first exposed the fraud at Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB back in 2015, Goldman and CEO David Solomon have been denying that the bank's role in enabling the perpetrators of the multibillion dollar public swindle, a group that included a corrupt banker and former Prime Minister Najib Razak, was the result of a few bad apples - not the result of a "culture of corruption", as former Goldman banker-turned-cooperating-government-witness Tim Leissner alleged in an affidavit (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-01/ex-goldman-banker-will-plead-guilty-charges-related-1mdb-scandal).
But as reports revealing the involvement of senior Goldman executives, including then-CEO Lloyd Blankfein, surfaced, it steadily became harder for the bank to try and pin it all on Leissner and his team in Southeast Asia - particularly after word got around that Blankfein had attended a one-on-one sit down with Jho Low, the banker who facilitated the 1MDB bond offerings underwritten by Goldman (and who is now a fugitive from justice, wanted by authorities in Malaysia and the US).
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screen%20Shot%202019-02-01%20at%206.13.42%20PM.png
Facing the threat of lasting reputational damage, and massive fines in both Malaysia and the US, Goldman's board of directors has decided to take action in what looks like a first step toward admitting that Blankfein - whose reputation and legacy at Goldman has suddenly been thrown into doubt - played an important role in helping the bankers who brought in the deal circumvent the bank's compliance controls.
According to the Wall Street Journal, (https://www.wsj.com/articles/1mdb-scandal-could-hit-pay-for-goldman-execs-including-david-solomon-lloyd-blankfein-11549056979?mod=hp_lead_pos1) Goldman said in a filing on Friday that it plans to withhold a $14 million deferred cash bonus to Blankfein and instead defer the payout until after an investigation into 1MDB had finished.


According to the filing (cited by FT (https://www.ft.com/content/1e4c028a-266b-11e9-8ce6-5db4543da632)), the board said "in light of the ongoing governmental and regulatory investigations relating to 1Malaysia Development Berhad ("1MDB")" share awards to all its senior executivescould be penalized "if it is later determined that the results of the 1MDB proceedings would have impacted the (Remuneration) Committee’s 2018 year-end compensation decisions for any of these individuals."
Blankfein, who retired as Goldman’s CEO on Oct. 1, was paid $20.5 million in 2018. But even in retirement, the bank could come after compensation that it already paid to Blankfein because it reserves the right to claw back some or all of the executives' pay from 2018.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-01/goldman-witholding-14-million-bonus-blankfein-until-1mdb-probe-finished

Swordsmyth
02-15-2019, 04:56 PM
Former Goldman banker Roger Ng has been sitting in a Malaysian jail cell since he was arrested in November and charged with abetting his employer's efforts to mislead investors in the three Goldman-organized bond offerings that helped capitalize the doomed Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which is at the center of what the DOJ alleges was a more than $4 billion fraud. But soon, Ng will find himself free on bail back in the US, now that the DOJ's extradition request has been granted by the Malaysian government.
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screen%20Shot%202019-02-15%20at%201.51.34%20PM.png
Ng is facing charges of money laundering in bribery in the states that are similar to those to which his former boss, former Goldman southeast Asia chief Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty last fall. Leissner has agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors to expose what he alleged was a "culture of corruption" at his former employer. Ng will return to the US within 30 days, according to his lawyers.

Tan Hock Chuan, Mr Ng’s lawyer, said on Friday that his client had reached an agreement with the DoJ for bail and has requested to return to the US within 30 days.
Marc Agnifilo, Mr Ng’s New York-based lawyer, told the Financial Times the former Goldman banker had waived extradition to the US and that "upon his arrival, he will plead not guilty."
Though Ng is facing a separate bill of charges in Malaysia, he was initially arrested in November at the behest of US authorities. According to the Financial Times, (https://www.ft.com/content/2767693e-30d6-11e9-8744-e7016697f225) his extradition is the latest sign that the DOJ's globe-spanning graft investigation is starting to accelerate.

The US indictment against Mr Ng accuses him of helping misappropriate more than $2.7bn from three 1MDB bonds arranged by Goldman Sachs in 2012 and 2013, totalling $6.5bn.
Authorities allege that Mr Ng conspired with Jho Low, a Malaysian financier deemed to be at the heart of the 1MDB scandal, Tim Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs partner, and others to bribe government officials so the bank would win business advising the fund. Mr Ng also faces criminal charges in Malaysia similar to those filed by the DoJ. Mr Tan on Friday said it was up to the Malaysian government to decide how to proceed with its own charges against Mr Ng.
According to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-15/ex-goldman-banker-seeks-extradition-to-u-s-for-1mdb-charges), Malaysia had dismissed Ng's application for bail deeming him "a serious flight risk."
But since he will be free in the US, one can't help but wonder if he's in the process of negotiating a deal of his own with prosecutors, and, if so, what additional ammunition he might be able to hand to prosecutors as it becomes increasingly clear that the DOJ isn't focusing solely on the bank itself, but some of the former senior executives - including possibly Lloyd Blankfein himself.


https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-15/former-goldman-banker-will-be-extradited-us-1mdb-case

Swordsmyth
04-24-2019, 06:09 PM
Any investor who has been following DoJ's criminal investigation of the Vampire Squid over Goldman's alleged facilitation of the massive $4.5 billion fraud at Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB could probably have guessed that, whatever the outcome of the probe, it wasn't going to end well for the bank.
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screen%20Shot%202019-04-24%20at%201.00.13%20PM.png
Those suspicions have now been confirmed.
According to a report published Wednesday by the Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/2658ac78-66a6-11e9-a79d-04f350474d62), Goldman Sachs could face the worst of all possible outcomes in the probe, for which it set aside half of a billion dollars in a legal contingency fund during Q4.


To wit:

US justice department staff have recommended that a settlement with Goldman Sachs over its role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal should include a guilty plea at the parent company level, according to people familiar with the matter.
Any such plea would be the toughest penalty the Department of Justice could bring against Goldman, which has long insisted that any misconduct was due to rogue bankers in its Asian operations.
To be sure, Goldman has paid billions of dollars in fines over its unscrupulous treatment of clients and counterparties alike during the run-up the financial crisis. But so far, the bank has managed to avoid actually copping to a felony (some rival American banking behemoths haven't been so lucky).
But now, it appears that streak of evading lasting criminal stigma might soon be at its end. The DoJ's decision is a sign that prosecutors have rejected Goldman's defense that the 1MDB-related malfeasance was the work of a few bad actors.


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-24/goldman-shares-slump-doj-demands-guilty-plea-1mdb-case

Swordsmyth
05-07-2019, 12:39 AM
A former Goldman Sachs banker pleaded not guilty Monday in New York to bribery and other charges in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal after being extradited from Malaysia.
Malaysian Ng Chong Hwa, 51, a former managing director at the bank charged in both Malaysia and America over the 1MDB fraud, was extradited to the US on Friday, Malaysian attorney-general Tommy Thomas said.
Also known as Roger Ng, the defendant was arraigned before a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn, pleading not guilty, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York.
Ng's attorney Marc Agnifilo said there were no "active" plea negotiations and that his client would consider "all options" after a judge said the two sides were in plea talks, Bloomberg reported.
Ng was granted bail after paying $1 million in cash for a $20 million bond, the spokesman said. He faces home detention with electronic monitoring.
A US indictment against Ng includes charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering.


Thomas said in a statement that an agreement had been reached for "a temporary surrender by Malaysia of Roger Ng for a period of 10 months to enable him to be extradited to the US and for the US prosecution to proceed first."
- Facing US charges first -
Ng had been in custody in Malaysia since November when the US unveiled 1MDB-linked charges against him and lodged an extradition request.
Malaysia later filed its own charges against Ng over the scandal.
Ng asked to be sent to the United States but Malaysia initially insisted he remain in the country until legal proceedings there had been completed.
Malaysia and the United States have also charged former Goldman partner Tim Leissner for his part in the controversy.
Leissner has already pleaded guilty in the US to 1MDB-linked charges.
The United States also indicted Low Taek Jho, an alleged mastermind behind the scandal and an intermediary to the Malaysian fund. Low remains at large.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/ex-goldman-banker-pleads-not-guilty-1mdb-charges-223135912.html

Swordsmyth
05-07-2019, 04:29 PM
After seizing hundreds of millions of assets tied to the 1MDB embezzlement scandal, the DoJ is finally starting to return some of the money to the Malaysian people - though the roughly $200 million that has been handed over pales in comparison to the $4.5 billion that the DoJ believes was stolen from public development fund by associates of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
According to the Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/a0dde54e-7088-11e9-bf5c-6eeb837566c5) and Bloomberg, the monies were returned under the auspices of a DoJ program called the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. Malaysian AG Tommy Thomas said that the first tranche of money returned was $57 million forfeited by Red Granite Pictures, the production studio that helped produce the Martin Scorsese film "Wolf of Wall Street", starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/2019.05.07leo.JPG
WSJ has extensively reported how fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, used money stolen from 1MDB to help finance the movie; he also purchased a yacht, real estate and millions of dollars worth of jewelry, including diamonds given by Low to supermodel Miranda Kerr.


The US will "soon" turn over the next tranche - some $139 million seized after the sale of stake in NYC's Park Lane Hotel, which had allegedly been bought using 1MDB money. Almost all of the money seized by DoJ will be returned, minus $3 million in 'investigation costs' that will be subtracted from the total.
As authorities from Singapore to Switzerland investigate crimes stemming from the looting of 1MDB, the US has filed forfeiture complaints to seize $1.7 billion in assets allegedly purchased with ill-gotten gains from 1MDB.
"1MDB asset recovery efforts across the globe are still ongoing, and Malaysia is optimistic of recovering further monies in the coming months," Thomas said.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-07/doj-returns-200-million-stolen-1mdb

oyarde
05-07-2019, 04:55 PM
GS stock still sitting at 202.61 .

Pauls' Revere
05-12-2019, 08:32 PM
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/malaysian-fugitive-funneling-foreign-money-to-back-obama/

The super PAC in question is Black Men Vote, a mysterious group that shelled out $842,760 in independent expenditures to support Obama in 2012. The group aired radio ads attacking Obama’s Republican opponent Mitt Romney, including one ad that was labeled “misleading” for taking Romney’s comments out of context.

More than 90 percent of Black Men Vote’s $1.33 million war chest came from money funneled through a limited-liability company called SPM Holdings LLC and Michel’s personal contributions, with him allegedly acting as a “straw donor,” according to the indictment. The only other donor to the group was Virginia philanthropist Earl Stafford, who is credited with a $100,000 contribution.

Beneficiaries of the foreign money also included the Obama Victory Fund, Obama’s joint-fundraising committee with the Democratic Party.

Republican FEC commissioners in 2016 blocked an effort by their Democratic counterparts to open an investigation into Michel for violating the ban on straw contributions. In their reasoning, the Republican commissioners wrote, “our colleagues’ approach would render the constitutional rights of closely held corporations to engage in independent political speech functionally meaningless.”

Michel tried and failed to get Low into multiple fundraising events for Obama. His efforts were not entirely fruitless, however, as Michel was able to secure a spot for Low’s father at a private fundraiser despite the invitation including a disclaimer on the “prohibition on foreign and conduit contributions.”

“To gain further access to and influence” according to the indictment, Low and his associates did ultimately attend events at the White House with Obama — visits brought into question after it was revealed Low funneled millions of dollars to the businessman who arranged them.

Michel recruited several straw donors to give to Obama’s committee. At one point a potential straw donor “expressed her concerns about the legality of the arrangement,” and told him she would not donate the money, to which Michel responded “Okay.”

Charges in the indictment range from campaign finance violations and false statements to the FEC to falsifying tax records.

Low’s money again came into play during the 2016 election. But this time, Donald Trump was the beneficiary.

Federal prosecutors are currently investigating whether more than $1.5 million in suspicious money transfers traced back to Low were funneled to the Trump campaign’s joint fundraising committee.

Low is no stranger to legal trouble. He allegedly used Malaysia’s 1MDB fund as a personal slush fund, blowing through millions of dollars partying with celebrities and financing blockbuster movies. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but he has built up an army of foreign agents meant to bolster his image in the U.S.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rapper-financier-charged-with-laundering-money-for-obama-campaign-2019-05-11/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/11/1mdb-fugees-rapper-and-malaysian-businessman-indicted-over-obama-donations

Low is a key figure in what is known as the 1MDB scandal, which has rocked Malaysian political and financial circles.

The presidential candidate receiving the contributions was not identified in the indictment and was referred to only as “Candidate A”.

But it has been widely reported and it was clear from the indictment that it was Obama.

The indictment alleges that between June and November 2012, Low transferred $21.6m to Michel “for the purpose of funnelling significant sums of money into the United States presidential election”.

Swordsmyth
05-30-2019, 10:39 PM
For somebody who is the subject of an international manhunt led by prosecutors on two continents, disgraced Malaysian financier and alleged 1MDB mastermind Jho Low has been surprisingly active in trying to stop the DoJ and prosecutors in Malaysia from seizing hundreds of millions of dollars of assets allegedly purchased with his ill-gotten gains.
Low, who is believed to be hiding in China under the government's protection, has been waging an expensive public relations campaign to clear his name, while trying to block the asset seizures through a team of international lawyers - all while insisting that the only reason he has remained in hiding is that he believes he wouldn't be able to receive a fair trial in Malaysia.
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/2019.05.30malaysia.JPG
But despite Low's best efforts, American prosecutors have moved ahead with the seizures, and have seized or auctioned off yachts, art work, jewelry (including gifts to supermodel Miranda Kerr) and even some of the proceeds from 'The Wolf of Wall Street', which was purportedly financed with some of the money siphoned from the doomed (Goldman Sachs-financed) sovereign wealth fund.


American prosecutors are also preparing to auction off millions of dollars in real estate, including luxury hotel and an LA mansion all purportedly purchased with 1MDB money have been seized by American prosecutors and are now on the auction block.
But in Malaysia, there's one piece of property that Low isn't prepared to surrender without a fight.

Low, who remains at large, dropped his claims to a stake in the Park Lane Hotel in New York City last year, paving the way for the property to be sold and the funds returned to Malaysia by the U.S. Justice Department. This week, lawyers for Low asked a U.S. judge to let them take the first steps toward selling two luxury condominiums in Manhattan, which are part of U.S. forfeiture lawsuits linked to 1MDB. Who will keep the proceeds remains unresolved as Low continues to fight the suits.
And that's a mansion belonging to his mother, which the Malaysian government is trying to seize, Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-30/jho-low-fights-to-claim-back-family-mansion-seized-in-1mdb-case) reports.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-30/fugitive-mastermind-1mdb-fraud-fighting-stop-seizure-his-family-mansion

Swordsmyth
07-06-2019, 05:28 PM
Stepson of Malaysia’s former prime minister charged with laundering $248 million from a state investment fund, becoming the third person in his family charged in the 1MDB scandal. (https://governmentslaves.news/2019/07/05/the-wolf-of-wall-street-producer-riza-aziz-arrested-on-money-laundering-charges/)

Swordsmyth
07-10-2019, 10:26 PM
When it rains inside the halls of Deutsche Bank, the flood is biblical.
Just when it seemed that the biggest (if not for long) German bank, already reeling from the biggest mass layoffs since Lehman, couldn't possibly bear any more bad news, along comes the US government with yet another potentially criminal investigation, this time over Deutsche Bank's involvement with the sprawling, multibillion-dollar Malaysian development fraud scandal that toppled a prime minister, crippled Goldman Sachs stock and stretched from Hollywood to Wall Street.
According to the WSJ, the DOJ is investigating whether the German bank violated foreign corruption or anti-money-laundering laws in its work for the 1Malaysia Development Bhd. fund, or 1MDB, which included helping the fund raise $1.2 billion in 2014 as concerns about the fund’s management and financials had begun to circulate.
So how did Deutsche Bank get thrown into yet another scandal? It turns out that DB was snitched out by former Goldman banker, Tim Leissner, the man who was ground zero in the original 1MDB scandal, and who ended up costing Goldman billions in dollar in market cap as its stock tumbled last year as its role in the biggest Malaysian corruption scandal got exposed, and according to some, cost Lloyd Blankfein his job. As it turns out, Leissner is now cooperating with authorities, and among his "good Samaritan" duties decided to throw the one bank that has more dirt on it than Goldman: Deutsche Bank. As we have reported extensively in the past, prosecutors have been investigating similar issues at Goldman, where Leissner, a former managing director, pleaded guilty last year and admitted to earlier helping siphon off billions of dollars from the fund.


But what does Goldman, and Leissner, get in exchange? Apparently a settelment. From the WSJ:

Meanwhile, the Justice Department is set to begin negotiations with Goldman soon to try to resolve allegations through a possible criminal settlement, a senior official said. “We do anticipate getting into active discussions with Goldman, at this point, in the near future,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski, who runs the agency’s criminal division, said in an interview. He declined to comment on any other aspect of the 1MDB investigation.
As the Journal further notes, prosecutors are focused, in particular, on the role of one of Leissner’s former colleagues, Tan Boon-Kee, who worked with Mr. Leissner on 1MDB-related business. She then left Goldman to become Asia Pacific head of banking for financial-institutions clients at Deutsche Bank, "where she was involved with further 1MDB dealings."

Ms. Tan left Deutsche Bank last year, after the bank discovered communications between her and Jho Low, the Malaysian financier described by the Justice Department as the central player in the 1MDB scandal, according to a person familiar with her exit. Neither she nor the bank have commented publicly about the reason for her departure.
“Deutsche Bank has cooperated fully with all regulatory and law-enforcement agencies that have made inquiries relating to 1MDB,” a spokesman for the bank said. He cited Justice Department documents saying 1MDB made “material misrepresentations and omissions to Deutsche Bank officials” in connection with 1MDB’s transactions with the bank. “This is consistent with the bank’s own findings in this matter,” he added.
What is notable is that whereas Goldman Sachs received the most for its involvement in the 1MDB scandal and for helping the Malaysian fund raise $6.5 billion of bonds and the role of Leissner as a key co-conspirator in the scheme to steal money, the German bank had so far managed to avoid the spotlight.
But, as we now learn, Deutsche Bank, too, played a large role in a variety of transactions related to 1MDB. In fact, DB's role may even be greater than that of Goldman: in the most recent version of the Justice Department’s civil asset-forfeiture complaint, in which it details the 1MDB scheme at length, Deutsche Bank is mentioned 167 times. Goldman Sachs is mentioned 56 times.

The complaint says Deutsche Bank was involved with 1MDB from its earliest days in 2009 as the bank facilitating financial transfers related to 1MDB’s first big deal, a joint venture with a little-known Swiss company called PetroSaudi. The Justice Department alleges that a group of conspirators led by Mr. Low, the Malaysian financier, stole some $1 billion from the $1.8 billion contribution by 1MDB, but it doesn’t describe any failing of Deutsche Bank in the complaint. PetroSaudi has denied any wrongdoing.
Deutsche Bank also arranged emergency loans for 1MDB in 2014 totaling $1.2 billion. The Justice Department said that money was also mostly stolen by Mr. Low and his co-conspirators. The bank called in the loan early, however, when it realized 1MDB’s collateral was impossible to verify, and 1MDB got an Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund it often worked with to extend a $1 billion loan to replace Deutsche Bank, according to the complaint and Malaysian investigative documents.
The bottom line is that whereas Deutsche Bank probably did not engage in outright criminal fraud, its anti-money laundering process and "Know Your Client" protocols will be closely scrutinized, even if the banker(s) who were in charge of these activities are likely long gone.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-10/us-probing-deutsche-banks-dealings-malaysias-1mdb-after-goldman-throws-it-under-bus

Swordsmyth
08-09-2019, 04:52 PM
After filing charges against the bankers who allegedly masterminded the bond deals that seeded Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB with billion of dollars for 'development' purposes, and then the three Goldman subsidiaries - Goldman Sachs International, Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC and Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte. - operating in the region where the scam was perpetrated, Malaysia's muckraking attorney general Tommy Thomas is now going after 17 current and former Goldman directors.
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/2019.08.09mdb.PNG
The criminal charges are the latest step in Thomas's crusade to recover the billions of dollars - with a face value of $6.5 billion - that were allegedly stolen from 1MDB by former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his inner circle.
The Goldman directors were being charged under Malaysia's Capital Markets and Services Act, which has provisions that hold senior executives responsible for violations committed by their organizations.


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-09/malaysia-charges-17-goldman-executives-1mdb-scandal

Swordsmyth
10-17-2019, 08:02 PM
Malaysia is open to more talks with Goldman Sachs after having two rounds of discussions to drop criminal charges against three units of the bank over the 1MDB scandal, the country's top prosecutor told the Nikkei Asian Review.Malaysian and U.S. investigators say about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the now-defunct state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, set up in 2009 by former prime minister Najib Razak.
Last year, Malaysia filed criminal charges against Goldman over its role as underwriter and arranger of three bond sales that raised $6.5 billion for 1MDB. Prosecutors in August filed criminal charges against 17 current and former directors at its units.
Malaysia had a strong case and was very confident of winning, Nikkei on Thursday cited Malaysian Attorney General Tommy Thomas as saying, but that criminal charges and settlement negotiations were taking place in parallel.
"A lot of cases are even settled even after the trial begins," he said. "So the doors for discussion are still open while the prosecution readies the criminal case."
Thomas and officials in his office were not immediately available for comment.
No date has been set for the criminal trial yet.
Malaysia's finance minister said in January the government would be ready to discuss dropping criminal charges against Goldman if it agreed to pay $7.5 billion in reparations.

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-malaysia-goldman-discuss-dropping-082603022.html

devil21
10-18-2019, 10:53 AM
^^^^^^
Goldman execs to Malaysian government: "This Singapore here, it's a nice little city you got here. It would be a shame if something happened to it like in Hong Kong. Damn shame. So you were saying what about those criminal charges against us?"

Swordsmyth
10-30-2019, 11:25 PM
The Department of Justice has reached a settlement of its civil forfeiture cases against assets acquired by Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, and his family using funds allegedly misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s investment development fund, and laundered through financial institutions in several jurisdictions, including the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg.
These assets, located in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, are estimated to be worth more than $700 million. With the conclusion of this settlement, together with the prior disposition of other related forfeiture cases, the United States will have recovered or assisted in the recovery of more than $1 billion in assets associated with the 1MDB international money laundering and bribery scheme. This represents the largest recovery to date under the Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative and the largest civil forfeiture ever concluded by the Justice Department.

More at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-reaches-settlement-recover-more-700-million-assets-allegedly-traceable

Swordsmyth
11-01-2019, 05:49 PM
^^^^^^
Goldman execs to Malaysian government: "This Singapore here, it's a nice little city you got here. It would be a shame if something happened to it like in Hong Kong. Damn shame. So you were saying what about those criminal charges against us?"

Malaysia Rejects Goldman's Offer Of "Less Than $2 Billion" To Settle 1MDB Suit (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/malaysia-rejects-goldmans-offer-less-2-billion-settle-1mdb-suit)

Swordsmyth
12-17-2019, 02:05 AM
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled foreign corruption charges against former Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> executive Tim Leissner for his involvement in Malaysia's multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal, the agency said on Monday.The SEC has permanently barred Leissner from the securities industry for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by allegedly receiving more than $43 million in illicit payments for helping to facilitate a bribery scheme involving high-ranking government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.
As part of the settlement, Leissner consented to the SEC's order that he violated antibribery, internal accounting controls, and books and records provisions of the federal securities laws.
The settlement also requires Leissner to give up ill-gotten gains of $43.7 million.
That amount will be offset by money paid as part of an action by the U.S. Department of Justice, which in November 2018 filed criminal charges against Leissner and fellow former Goldman banker Roger Ng. Leissner pleaded guilty to those charges. Ng pleaded not guilty, and his case is pending in federal court in Brooklyn.

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-sec-says-settled-corruption-190805767.html

Swordsmyth
12-19-2019, 06:01 PM
Two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that Goldman Sachs and the DoJ (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/goldman-shares-rally-reports-doj-weighing-lowball-1mdb-settlement) were finally nearing a deal in the federal probe of the Vampire Squid's role in the 1MDB scandal, one of the biggest government fraud cases in modern Asian history. During the opening years of this decade, Goldman organized a series of bond issues for 1MDB - short for 1Malaysia Development Bhd - a sovereign wealth fund that was supposed to finance major public works projects for the people of Malaysia.
But instead of being used for the public good, the fund was looted by financier Jho Low, who was put in charge of the project by then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Low, allegedly with the help of two Goldman bankers, who were later accused of accepting bribes to facilitate the fraud, siphoned billions of dollars out of the fund and distributed to Razak and members of his inner circle. The fund went bust and bondholders were eventually left holding the bag. Razak has been charged with crimes relating to the fraud.
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Goldman-Sachs-and-1MDB.jpeg
Anyway, as of earlier this month, it appeared that the DoJ was preparing to let Goldman off easy with a (just under) $2 billion fine. Such a fine would be the biggest settlement with a US bank since the mortgage settlements after the crisis. Goldman's shares jumped in response to the headline, as the market interpreted it as positive news: The fine was smaller than analysts had expected, and there was no mention of a guilty plea anywhere in the report.



Unfortunately, that has now changed.
According to WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-in-talks-to-admit-guilt-pay-2-billion-fine-to-settle-1mdb-probe-11576760406?mod=hp_lead_pos1), Goldman is in talks to agree to a $2 billion fine, admit guilt and agree to pay for an independent monitor of its compliance practices.
That's bad news for Goldman, though the guilty plea would only impact one of the bank's Asian subsidiaries, rather than the parent company.

Goldman Sachs Group is in talks with the U.S. government to pay a multibillion-dollar fine, admit guilt and agree to ongoing oversight of its compliance procedures in order to resolve a criminal investigation into its role in a Malaysian corruption scandal.
Goldman and the Justice Department have largely agreed on a fine of just under $2 billion to settle allegations that the Wall Street firm ignored red flags while billions of dollars were looted from its client, a Malaysian government fund known as 1MDB, people familiar with the matter said.
The bank and U.S. officials have discussed a deal in which a Goldman subsidiary in Asia - not the parent company - would plead guilty to violating U.S. bribery laws, some of the people said. The discussions also involve Goldman installing an independent monitor to oversee and recommend changes to its compliance procedures, the people said.
Talks are ongoing and the outlines of a deal, which could be reached early next year, may change.
The presence of a monitor means this settlement has something in common with HSBC's infamous 2012 settlement over charges it laundered money for Mexican drug cartels. The bank had to hire an independent monitor, who recently flagged some other suspicious transactions that got HSBC mixed up in the US government's battle with Huawei. (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-06/hsbcs-federally-appointed-monitor-flagged-suspicious-transactions-involving-huawei)


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/goldman-admit-guilt-pay-2bn-fine-and-hire-independent-monitor-historic-1mdb-settlement

Firestarter
09-29-2023, 02:00 PM
Leaked emails showed Jho Low's associates in talks with Trump ally to drop 1MDB probe for US$75 mil

SINGAPORE (Mar 2): Low Taek Jho is said to have been in multimillion-dollar negotiations with Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser and ally of United States President Donald Trump, to make the probe into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal disappear.
I already knew about the Broidy link, but the link to Donald's buddy Tom Barrack and the Emirati ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, is even better (or should I say worse?)!

Companies connected to UAE ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, received $66 million embezzled from Malaysia‘s 1MDB investment fund. The $66 million were paid to “Densmore Investments Ltd. in the British Virgin Islands and Silver Coast Construction & Boring in the UAE”.

Reportedly ambassador al-Otaiba met Shaher Awartani, a business partner of Jho Low (the Malaysian criminal that was charged with embezzling the billions), based in Abu Dhabi: https://archive.is/ooSKS


In December 2009, Otaiba emailed Thomas Barrack Jr. urging him to sell the L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills to Low’s family trust that bought the hotel in 2010 for more than $45 million.

Otaiba’s investments include millions of dollars in Palantir Technologies (of Peter Thiel) and the infamous Carlyle Group (associated with Bush, Soros, Blackstone and Serco): https://archive.is/uBMgh


Otaiba’s and Jho Low’s business partner, Shaher Awartani, holds a Malta passport bought through Henley & Partners.
Jho Low himself has a St Kitts and Nevis passport (where Henley & Partners is also actively selling ID’s): https://manueldelia.com/2018/08/maltese-citizen-named-in-financial-scandal-involving-former-malaysian-prime-minister/


I have previously posted about the 16 October 2017 murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, probably because she came a little too close to exposing the links between Henley & Partners, SCL Group, British Royals, and passports for sale in Malta: Maltese blogger assassinated by car bomb (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?516145-Maltese-blogger-assassinated-by-car-bomb)