KUALA LUMPUR – Disgraced former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner testified in the controversial 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial that after the FBI served him with a subpoena in February, 2016, he had concocted a “cover story” with former subordinate Roger Ng and their wives to justify the US$35 million (RM146.69 million) in funds.
In yet another day of the scandalous trial of Ng, Leissner said early yesterday that the group’s call to come up with an alibi followed a meeting with a “feng shui master”, reported Reuters.
Leissner, his former wife Judy Chan, Ng, and Ng’s wife Lim Hwee Bin had consulted the “feng shui master” to ask whether they “would be in trouble” since Leissner had received a subpoena from the FBI.
The testimony could prove to be problematic for Ng, who submitted that what the money prosecutors are calling stolen goods were actually derived from a legitimate business venture between the two men’s wives.
Ng is accused of conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi for 1MDB bond deals.
Prosecutors assert that the purported mastermind of the scheme, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, paid Leissner more than US$60 million in kickbacks while Ng got US$35 million.
When questioned by Ng’s attorney Marc Agnifilo about his involvement with various women, Leissner admitted that he has “lied a lot” in his life.
Reuters reported that the admission was confessed yesterday during Leissner’s cross-examination session, during which he said: “I have lied a lot, sir, and I have regretted those choices.”
The confession comes as no surprise as Leissner had previously laid bare his cheating, lying, and scheming ways on day four of his testimony in a Brooklyn court.
A US$50 million boat, part of the Inter Milan team, a Manhattan apartment, and investments in a media company All Def Digital Inc were some of the ways in which Leissner had spent the millions he stole from 1MDB, reported Bloomberg.
Besides that, Leissner had previously revealed that he was married to two women simultaneously – one being American model Kimora Lee Simmons and the other being Hong Kong businesswoman Chan.
He said to marry Simmons, he provided a fake divorce decree in 2014, a similar modus operandi as when he wanted to marry Chan in 2000.
While he admitted that Simmons knew about the forged documents, Chan did not.
Meanwhile, Leissner had revealed to the US court on February 23 his alleged affair with former Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan, and how she allegedly blackmailed him for a US$10 million home in London.
Bloomberg reported that the pair had a relationship between 2003 to 2013, when Leissner called it off so he could be with Simmons. – The Vibes, March 2, 2022
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