KUALA LUMPUR – PKR MP Fahmi Fadzil has called for investigations after former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner revealed that he gifted a US$10 million (RM41.8 million) home in London to his then-lover Datuk Rohana Rozhan, using 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds.
The Lembah Pantai MP said the testimony that Leissner bought the property for Rohana, who is former Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer, must be investigated by the Malaysian police, attorney-general, and the federal government.
“If it is true 1MDB funds were misappropriated to purchase the house for Rohana, then the house or the money used must be returned to the people,” he said in a statement today.
This was after Leissner testified about his extramarital affair with the former CEO who allegedly blackmailed him into purchasing the US$10 million home for her, or risk having her snitch on his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.
Leissner, labelled as a star witness in the corruption trial of former Goldman Sachs colleague Roger Ng, reportedly told the court his affair with Rohana lasted from 2003 to 2013 and that he eventually purchased the property to buy her silence.
Rohana left Astro in 2019.
Leissner had also pleaded guilty in 2018 to a count of conspiracy for violating US anti-bribery laws and to conspiring to launder money.
Fahmi today added that as of last year, the only thing the 1MDB saga has given to the country was a “gift” in the form of debts amounting to RM32 billion.
He said the 1MDB saga is the product of the “stability” of the ruling regime for more than six decades in the country, which has only managed to “benefit” specific clusters of cronies and lovers, and not the people.
Leissner’s accusations against Rohana have yet to elicit an official response from the former CEO. – The Vibes, February 23, 2022
