Malaysia says Goldman Sachs must pay, apology not enough

18, 01, 2019 

PUTRAYAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Friday that an apology by Goldman Sachs for its role in the alleged multibillion-dollar ransacking of state investment fund 1MDB was insufficient and that it must pay $7.5 billion as compensation.

Goldman-Chef David Solomon entschuldigt sich am Mittwoch beim malaysischen Volk für die Rolle des ehemaligen Bankiers Tim Leissner bei der Vermittlung von Anleihenverkäufen für 1MDB.

Goldman Sachs ist in einer der größten Korruptionsskandale der vergangenen Jahre verwickelt.

Sie stellten den Mitgliedern des ehemaligen malaysischen Premierministers Najib Razak die Möglichkeit zur Verfügung, angeblich über mehrere Jahre hinweg Milliarden aus dem Fonds zu stehlen.

Solomon has said the investment bank conducted due diligence but was misled by Leissner and former Malaysian government officials.

“That’s insufficient, necessary but not sufficient,” said Lim. “Apology with $7.5 billion is what matters … there has to be accountability.”

Der 1MDB-Fonds wurde von Najib bei seinem Amtsantritt im Jahr 2009 für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung eingerichtet. Stattdessen wurden Schulden in Milliardenhöhe angesammelt. Er wird in den USA und mehreren anderen Ländern untersucht. Der Skandal trug dazu bei, dass Najib im Mai bei einer historischen Wahlniederlage aus dem Ruder gelaufen war.

The new government has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs, Leissner and another former executive, Roger Ng Chong Hwa. Officials say the government is seeking several billion dollars in fines from Goldman for violations of securities laws involving making false and misleading statements to investors.

Malaysia’s attorney general Tommy Thomas has said $2.7 billion was stolen from three bond sales organized by Goldman subsidiaries and that the investment bank received $600 million in fees, several times industry norms, for organizing the deals. Thomas alleges that Leissner and Ng conspired with Najib associate Low Taek Jho to bribe Malaysian government officials to choose Goldman Sachs to handle the bond deal, knowing the money would be stolen.

Leissner, who headed Goldman’s operations in Southeast Asia, pled guilty in the U.S. last year to money laundering conspiracy and conspiring to violate foreign bribery laws. Ng was arrested in Malaysia in early November and Low, also known as Jho Low, remains at large. In statements through a lawyer, he has maintained his innocence.

Najib faces multiple corruption charges. He has said that more than $700 million that moved through his bank account was a political donation from the Saudi royal family, but U.S. prosecutors allege it came from 1MDB. U.S. legal filings that are part of a Justice Department civil case to recover assets bought with 1MDB funds allege the money was used to finance Hollywood films and spent on luxuries such as diamond jewelry for Najib’s wife, a yacht, artworks and high-end properties.

Lim told reporters the government is willing to discuss dropping the charges if Goldman pays up.

Er sprach, nachdem er mit drei Banken beauftragt war, eine Samurai-Anleihe in Höhe von 200 Milliarden Yen (1,9 Milliarden US-Dollar) zu arrangieren. Die Regierung hat gesagt, es braucht mindestens drei Jahre, um Ihre Haushaltsprobleme zu lösen .

(Quelle: Mainichijp // AP.) Malaysia