FORMER Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Tim Leissner, who pleaded guilty to his role in one of the largest financial frauds in history, has applied for a U.S. presidential pardon ahead of the start of his prison sentence.
Bloomberg, on Friday, cited that Leissner filed his pardon application with the US Justice Department last year, according to a notice published on the department’s website. Archived records show the application was submitted between Sept 3 and Nov 18.
A former chairman of Goldman Sachs in Southeast Asia, Leissner admitted in 2018 to participating in a scheme to embezzle US$4.5 billion from Malaysia’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund.
He later became a key cooperating witness for US prosecutors and testified against his former colleague Roger Ng at a 2022 trial in Brooklyn, New York.
The White House is currently reviewing thousands of clemency requests. Among them are applications from Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang, who was convicted over the collapse of his US$36 billion family office, and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors.
Last week, President Donald Trump granted clemency to more than 20 individuals, including several convicted of white-collar crimes. Trump has said he is using his broad clemency powers to correct abuses in the criminal justice system against those prosecuted for political reasons.
Critics, however, argue that the process is being misused and undermines the work of prosecutors.
At Leissner’s sentencing hearing in May, both he and federal prosecutors urged the court to spare him a prison term, arguing that his cooperation led to the conviction of a former colleague and billions of dollars in global penalties imposed on Goldman Sachs.
US District Judge Margo Brodie rejected the request and sentenced him to two years in prison, describing his conduct as “brazen and audacious”.
Brodie cited a letter from Goldman Sachs stating that Leissner had failed to take responsibility for his actions and engaged in “serial lies”.
She said a custodial sentence was necessary, adding that without Leissner, the massive fraud might never have occurred.
Goldman Sachs paid more than US$5 billion to settle global investigations linked to the 1MDB scandal, including a US$2.9 billion penalty, one of the largest ever imposed for violations of US anti-bribery laws.
The bank has also pursued civil action against Leissner, seeking to recover at least US$20.7 million paid to him during his involvement in 1MDB-related transactions.
Goldman won an arbitration award for that amount in 2022, which was upheld by a federal judge in Manhattan the following year.
“Mr. Leissner has still not repaid one penny,” Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said.
Leissner, a German citizen, is scheduled to surrender to a federal prison facility in Southern California early next month.
Although Brodie ordered him to begin serving his sentence on Nov 17, she allowed him to remain free until Jan 12. Earlier this month, his lawyer, Henry Mazurek, requested a further delay, saying prison officials required time to place him at a facility closer to his family in California, and asked that he surrender on Feb 6.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn declined to comment. Mazurek did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 1MDB scandal led to the fall of the Malaysian government and triggered investigations in six countries. During Ng’s trial, Leissner testified that he worked closely with Ng and Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, widely known as Jho Low, who US authorities have described as the architect of the fraud. Low, who has been charged in the US, remains a fugitive and has previously denied any wrongdoing.
Ng, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, was extradited to Malaysia in 2023 under an agreement with US authorities to face charges there.
In December, the Malaysian government announced it was seeking Leissner’s extradition in connection with offences linked to the 1MDB case.
At his sentencing hearing, Leissner appealed for leniency.
“I know how terrible my crime was,” he said. “In the process of telling the government and the world about 1MDB, I have had to publicly face the fact that I helped steal billions of dollars not just from individuals, but from an entire nation.”- January 23, 2026
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