The wheels of justice in the U.S. appear to be a little rusty, but they still run, and every once in a while, they remind us of a major scandal or two. This is proving to be the case for Tim Leissner, a former chairman and participating managing director (MD) for Southeast Asia at Goldman… Read More >>
Jury Convicts Key Player in Malaysian Fund Scandal
A federal jury recently found a former Goldman Sachs managing director guilty of bribing government officials to secure lucrative deals through the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investment and development fund, as well as guilty of laundering the proceeds on a massive scale. Following an eight-week trial, the jury in the Eastern District of New York… Read More >>
$1B in Misused 1MDB Funds Returned to Malaysia
Justice Department Sends Back Misappropriated Funds U.S. Justice Department officials report that they have returned “an additional $452 million in misappropriated 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds to the people of Malaysia, bringing the total returned to over $1.2 billion.” The repatriation of the funds from the former 1MDB investment development fund follows a scandal in… Read More >>
Goldman Sachs Admits Guilt in Foreign Bribery Case
Goldman Sachs is admitting guilt and paying a fine of $2.9 billion for its role in a scandal that saw officials from the firm bribing Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials from 2009 to 2014 in order to secure ongoing business for the multinational investment bank. After much negotiation, the firm has begun to resolve the… Read More >>
AML, KYC Fines Hit $5.6B as of mid-2020
Penalties assessed against financial institutions for non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC), and sanctions regulations totaled $5.6 billion by the end of July 2020, according to a mid-year report from a well-known fintech provider. That provider, Fenergo, founded in 2008, characterizes itself as a “digital enabler of client and regulatory technology for… Read More >>
Goldman Sachs Reaches $3.9B Settlement with Malaysia
Goldman Sachs is settling with Malaysia, whose sovereign-wealth fund was looted in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund better known as 1MDB, to the tune of more than $2.5 billion. It’s the latest episode in the long-running saga of 1MDB, the fugitive financier Jho Low, and the New York City-based multinational… Read More >>
$96M of Luxury Loot Sought via 1MDB Scandal
The United States Justice Department (DoJ) reports that it has filed civil forfeiture complaints aimed at the “recovery of approximately $96 million in assets allegedly associated with an international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.” Those assets include “luxury real estate in Paris, artwork by Claude… Read More >>
