[UPDATED] Coffee girl: Najib’s daughter admits Leissner helped land TPG internship

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s daughter Nooryana Najwa has admitted that former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner helped get her a job at private equity firm TPG, as he revealed in his Tuesday testimony in the US.

“Yes, I did inquire if Goldman Sachs had such interdisciplinary roles. I was prepared to interview for them. And yes, I was told that Goldman Sachs does business with the government of Malaysia, so it could be a conflict of interest.

“Tim Leissner then introduced me to the fundraising group at TPG, a global private equity firm. Raising investment funds from strategic institutional investors (most notably pension funds and sovereign wealth funds) meant that my policy background would come in handy. 

“I interviewed for an intern analyst position at the TPG London office. Yes, an intern. This meant you’re at the bottom of the food chain. Besides your core job scope, you’re also responsible for the spadework. You’re the PowerPoint girl, the photocopying girl, the coffee girl and the delivery girl, just to name a few.”

She added that TPG adheres to strict compliance processes, and she was not allowed to participate and/or work on any Malaysian investor accounts, given Najib’s position as then-prime minister.

“After about 11 months as an intern, I was promoted to a full-time analyst following an internal performance review and transferred to the TPG Hong Kong office, where I spent 1.5 years working on the TPG Asia fundraising efforts.

“I subsequently left TPG in June 2015 to focus on my business and graduate school applications.”

She added that meeting senior banking professionals such as Roger Ng and Tim Leissner was nothing more than an opportunity to learn more about Goldman Sachs’ demanding analyst programme.

Ng is on trial in the US for money laundering and his involvement with Leissner, the star witness.

She had wanted to find a role that “marries finance and government policy”, and the “golden standard at the time was to work at a premiere financial institution”. 

“The most common route was to pay your dues, work the brutal 85-95-hour weeks for a few years (yes, our career counsellor would joke, be prepared to be a doormat) then apply to business school or make a career switch that is more in-synch with your true passion.”

She said she had “a profound interest in government and foreign policy” after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in International Politics and Foreign Policy from Georgetown University in Washington DC.

In his testimony yesterday, Leissner dropped a bombshell revelation on Najib, who allegedly wanted to secure jobs for his three children with Goldman.

Leissner, 52, testified that his ex-boss Lloyd Blankfein’s meeting with Najib in 2009 came with an agenda and it took place before the bank’s mega bond deals for 1MDB.

He added that he was told by Ng that Najib would be in New York to visit his children for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

He alleged that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, said it would be good for Blankfein and Najib to meet.

Leissner said after a meeting with Najib, Ng said the Malaysian prime minister wanted jobs for his children at Goldman.

“Just met PM’s three children at his apartment, am with Jho at his apartment,” Leissner read to the jury from an email.

He said Ng added: “Meeting him again tomorrow and will work at getting his three children to join Goldman Sachs.”

Leissner then said he did not express any qualms, as “the prime minister of Malaysia was potentially great business for us, so I felt having the children of the prime minister work for us would potentially be seen, not just for the prime minister”, but “all others in Asia would take notice”.

He added that he later helped get Najib’s daughter a job at TPG, which is an American investment company.

Nooryana last made headlines during her wedding to Kazakh Daniyar Kessibayev. 

The ultra-lavish ceremony was heavily criticised with allegations of abuse of public monies, including claims of RM3 million spent just on flowers.

Later, Najib’s camp said the ceremony was paid for entirely by the family of the groom. – The Vibes, February 24, 2022