KUALA LUMPUR – The questioning of disgraced Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner in the ongoing controversial 1MDB trial may end with him divulging details of a meeting held between him, former subordinate Roger Ng and their wives with a “feng shui master” after mounting worries over their cover being blown.
According to Bloomberg, US prosecutors are claiming that the government’s star witness can describe a 2016 meeting held after questions were raised in a series of published news articles about the role played by Goldman bankers in the 1MDB scandal.
In a court filing on Monday, prosecutors said that Leissner could testify that the meeting with the “feng shui master” – which involved Leissner, his former wife Judy Chan, Ng, and Ng’s wife Lim Hwee Bin – was followed by Lim insisting on the group coming up with a “cover story”.
Prosecutors said that Lim had pushed for the cover story to explain why Hong Kong businesswoman Chan had sent money to an account controlled by her, adding that Leissner could testify that Ng – who is now on trial – and his wife had then decided on the next course of action.
“Ng and his wife decided that the best story would be to say that the defendant had previously invested in Chan’s real estate business.
“Leissner will also testify that Ng and his wife would fabricate a story about the origins of the investment,” Bloomberg quoted prosecutors as saying.
Prosecutors are attempting to persuade the judge to allow the testimony, even though Lim’s statements occurred after the supposed conspiracy ended.
“They (Lim’s statements) are relevant and could refute (Ng’s lawyer Marc) Agnifilo’s claims that the transfer of funds was legitimate,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors added that Leissner’s testimony will note that after Ng was arrested in Singapore in 2017, Ng’s wife had called Leissner “in a panic” and called for a “common story” about the transfer of the money.
She had also allegedly said that Ng had disclosed to investigators “nothing else about them” and “downplayed the current contract” between her husband and Leissner.
Bloomberg reported that Agnifilo, however, has argued the money Ng received was a transfer from an account controlled by Chan to Lim for a legitimate separate business transaction between the two wives.
The news channel added that while Agnifilo didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment, he has said that Lim will testify about the transaction as part of her husband’s defence.
Ng is accused of conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi from 1MDB bond deals.
Prosecutors assert that the purported mastermind of the scheme, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, paid Leissner more than US$60 million (RM251.83 million) in kickbacks while Ng got US$35 million.
Leissner had previously revealed that he was married to two women simultaneously – one being American model Kimora Lee Simmons and the other being Chan.
He said to marry Simmons, he provided a fake divorce decree in 2014, and a similar modus operandi when he wanted to marry Chan in 2000.
While he admitted that Simmons knew about the forged documents, Chan did not.
Meanwhile, Leissner had revealed to the US court on February 23 his alleged affair with former Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd CEO Datuk Rohana Rozlan, and how she allegedly blackmailed him for a US$10 million home in London.
Bloomberg reported that the pair had a relationship between 2003 to 2013, when Leissner called it off so he could be with Simmons. – The Vibes, March 1, 2022
