KUALA LUMPUR – More names have been linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal in the US as Goldman Sachs investors are seeking to question three former employees in a class action suit against the bank.
As part of a suit against Goldman and its senior management over the 1MDB scandal, plaintiffs led by Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden named former partner Toby Watson and former employees Cyrus Shey and Patrick Kidney – who testified in the trial against Roger Ng.
According to court documents, Watson played “an integral role” in structuring bond deals for 1MDB and was the managing director at the bank’s Hong Kong office at the time, reported Bloomberg.
Seeing that the three – Watson, Shey and Kidney – are living in the UK, the plaintiffs are applying to the court to get the British authorities to assist in obtaining their testimonies.
The suit claims that the three have knowledge about Goldman’s involvement with 1MDB and fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho. It added that the process “will seek to uncover information regarding red flags that arose during the bond approval process and the due diligence practices and procedures”.
In the deal, Goldman sold US$6.5 billion (RM28.5 billion) in bonds for 1MDB and made US$600 million in fees. In 2020, it paid nearly US$3 billion in fines and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty in a US court.
Some US$4.5 billion in funds had been stolen from 1MDB, according to US and Malaysian authorities, but Malaysia said at least US$4.3 billion more remain unaccounted for.
Aside from Goldman, the suit also names the bank’s former CEO Lloyd Blankfein and former COO Gary Cohn as defendants. – The Vibes, May 11, 2022
