1MDB: Tawfiq shocked, denies receiving bribes from Leissner

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Tawfiq Ayman, who is husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, has denied receiving bribes in 2009 from former Goldman Sachs bankers in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

“I am shocked at the statements made against me by Tim Leissner, which have been reported in the media.

“I wish to categorically state that throughout my entire life, I have never received any bribes from anyone,” he said in a statement shared with The Vibes by Tawfiq’s lawyer Wan Muhd Ariff Ameer.

Tawfiq also denied ever knowing, meeting, or speaking to former Goldman bankers, Tim Leissner or Roger Ng.

He added that he is seeking legal advice on the next appropriate course of action to clear him of the accusations.

This comes in response to Leissner’s testimony at the trial of Ng at a Brooklyn Federal Court in New York, where he testified Tawfiq was paid a bribe to facilitate the transfer of US$1 billion (RM4.19 billion) out of Malaysia sometime in 2009.

Leissner testified the funds were transferred out of Malaysia “overnight” without any rigorous process by Malaysia’s federal bank after Tawfiq received kickbacks, the amount of which remains unclear.

The transfer was said to be related to 1MDB’s joint venture with oil and gas company PetroSaudi International Ltd, with business dealings between the entities then handled by Goldman.

Zeti herself has been embroiled in the ongoing 1MDB saga, when she was urged to break her “elegant silence” on the revelation that 1MDB-linked funds had been repatriated from Cutting Edge Industries Ltd, a company in Singapore owned by her husband.

Calls were made for investigations to focus on Zeti and current Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, particularly on whether they were aware of the funds being under Cutting Edge.

According to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Cutting Edge is owned by Zeti’s husband Tawfiq and Samuel Goh.

In the ongoing trial, Ng, 49, is facing accusations of pocketing millions of dollars in kickbacks in the 1MDB deal, with allegations of money laundering and violating anti-bribery laws.

Leissner is the prosecution’s star witness in Ng’s trial after pleaded guilty in 2018 to a count of conspiracy to violate US anti-bribery laws and to conspiring to launder money. – The Vibes, February 24, 2022