[UPDATED] Najib files MACC report against ex-Goldman Sachs top dog

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has lodged a report against former Goldman Sachs Group Inc senior manager Tim Leissner at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Putrajaya today.

This is in an effort by Najib “obtain a fair trial” in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd financial scandal and get the list of officials that Leissner allegedly bribed.

In a press conference in front of the anti-graft agency this morning, Najib said he was advised to lodge the report so that authorities can question Leissner and seek an extradition.

“I find it strange why the Malaysian government and the prosecution do not seem to want to know and take action against 1MDB and government officers who were bribed by Leissner, which resulted in Goldman Sachs paying a penalty and compensation up to RM16.4 billion to the government.

“Therefore, I was advised to make this report to the MACC today against Tim Leissner so that the authorities can question and bring him back or ask for the list of names from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) so that the names can be made public and appropriate actions can be taken.”

Najib added that his lawyer had won a case in the United States to obtain the list, which was revealed by Leissner in his guilty plea.

“However, the US government through its Department of Justice had challenged the US court’s decision and stopped the names from being revealed.

“At the same time, a lawyer from Brahman and Associates who represented another (former) Goldman Sachs senior manager Roger Ng had issued a media statement saying that the name list is exculpatory evidence that can clear my name from the 1MDB scam.”

He said he believes the disclosure of names is crucial evidence in his pursuit of a fair trial as it could clear him from being implicated in the 1MDB scandal.

“This is very important in order to obtain a fair trial. This is crucial, very crucial evidence.

“If we believe in the rule of law and fair trial, these names must be exposed because it does not only involve the principle of fair trial, but also the credibility of the witnesses.

“This is the main thing (in my pursuit) to demand for justice,” he said.

Previously, according to the DoJ, Leissner, who is the former chairman for Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia, had pleaded guilty on November 1, 2018, to conspiring to launder money and conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to various Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials and circumventing the internal accounting controls of the financial institution while he was employed by it.

In February, Najib sought to get the names of 1MDB officials who allegedly received bribes from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Leissner.

In the middle of the year, Najib said his legal team had asked the court and the prosecution to disclose the list of names, but to no avail.

He is facing 42 counts of corruption, abuse of power and money laundering across five court cases relating to the 1MDB scandal.

In July last year, he was found guilty of seven charges relating to criminal breach of trust, money laundering, and abuse of position involving RM42 million in former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd funds. – The Vibes, October 27, 2021