1MDB scandal: ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng to be returned to Malaysia to face trial

Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the US for helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund
He will be returned to his home country, where he faces charges related to the financial scandal

Malaysia

Reuters

Published: 10:59am, 6 Oct 2023

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Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, facing 10 years in prison after being convicted in New York of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, will be returned to that country, where he faces related charges.

Chief US District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn on Thursday ordered Ng’s surrender to the US Marshals Service by Friday so he could be turned over to Malaysian law enforcement, who would transport him to their country.

Ng would be required upon returning to the United States to begin his prison term, prosecutors said in an earlier letter to Brodie. Ng’s lawyers agreed to the proposed schedule, the letter said.

Lawyers for Ng did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Ng’s surrender date had been delayed from September 6, after US prosecutors said they needed more time to communicate with Kuala Lumpur about first letting him stand trial there.

A day earlier, Singapore’s central bank banned Ng, also known as Ng Chong Hwa, for life, saying his “severe misconduct” made it “contrary to public interest to allow him to carry on business as a representative.”

The case stemmed from about US$6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB sell in 2012 and 2013.

US prosecutors said officials, bankers and their associates embezzled about US$4.5 billion of that sum.

Ng is a Malaysian national and Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia.

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Brodie sentenced Ng in March, 11 months after jurors found him guilty of helping former Goldman boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds, and bribe government officials to win business.

Leissner’s much-delayed sentencing is now scheduled for March 19, 2024. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and the scheme’s suspected mastermind, was also indicted but remains at large.

Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay US$2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge.

Ng had been arrested in Malaysia in November 2018, and agreed to be extradited to the US.

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