1MDB case: ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng arrives in Malaysia for questioning after US conviction

Ng’s 10-year prison sentence in the US has been deferred to allow Malaysia to question him over the 1MDB case
It is unclear how long the former Goldman Sachs banker will be in the country of his birth, to which he returned on Sunday

Malaysia 1MDB scandal

BloombergandReuters

Published: 12:39pm, 9 Oct 2023

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Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng arrived in Malaysia to assist in the nation’s 1MDB probe after his 10-year prison term in the US was deferred, according to a Bernama report.

Malaysia’s Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain on Sunday said Ng arrived in Malaysia around midnight, but did not disclose his whereabouts due to security reasons, the report said.

The Southeast Asian nation is focusing on recovering as much as possible from the billions of dollars that were looted from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

It is unclear how long Ng will be in Malaysia, where he also faces four charges.

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Ng, a Malaysian national who was convicted in the US for his role in the scandal, was scheduled to begin a 10-year prison sentence on October 6, but US officials have allowed the sentence to be deferred so Ng could return to Malaysia and assist the investigation.

Chief US District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn last Thursday ordered Ng’s surrender to the US Marshals Service by Friday so he could be turned over to Malaysian law enforcement.

Ng’s surrender date had been delayed from September 6, after US prosecutors said they needed more time to communicate with Kuala Lumpur about first letting him stand trial there.

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Singapore’s central bank last month banned Ng, also known as Ng Chong Hwa, for life, saying his “severe misconduct” made it “contrary to public interest to allow him to carry on business as a representative”.

The case involving Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia stemmed from about US$6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB sell in 2012 and 2013.

US prosecutors said officials, bankers and their associates embezzled about US$4.5 billion of that sum.

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Brodie sentenced Ng in March, 11 months after jurors found him guilty of helping former Goldman boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds, and bribe government officials to win business.

Leissner’s much-delayed sentencing is now scheduled for March 19 next year. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and the scheme’s suspected mastermind, was also indicted but remains at large.

Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay US$2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge.

Ng had been arrested in Malaysia in November 2018, and agreed to be extradited to the US.

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