NEW YORK, May 23 — Goldman Sachs has accused its former South-east Asia chairman Tim Leissner of being a “serial liar” who operated out of greed and deception in the 1MDB corruption scandal, just days before he is due to be sentenced in the United States.
According to Bloomberg, Goldman’s general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, in a letter filed yesterday to a Brooklyn federal judge, said Leissner had never taken responsibility for his role in the scheme that siphoned billions from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
The 53-year-old pleaded guilty in 2018 and became a key witness for the US government, helping to secure the conviction of a fellow Goldman banker and contributing to the firm’s record US$2.9 billion (RM12.4 billion) penalty in a foreign bribery case.
But Goldman appears to be seeking to distance itself from its former executive, claiming he acted alone to cover up his actions.
“Leissner spent years using offshore shell companies, personal email accounts and personal devices to engage in crime, evade detection and put Goldman Sachs at risk in the process,” Ruemmler reportedly wrote.
The statement follows a US government request for leniency in sentencing, citing Leissner’s extensive cooperation with federal prosecutors.
However, Goldman maintains that “from Goldman’s perspective, Mr Leissner’s efforts in this regard are deserving of sanction, not praise.”
The bank took particular issue with Leissner’s attempt to link his crimes to institutional norms.
“His attempt to blame the financial industry for his crimes denigrates the countless law-abiding people who work in it and draws focus for the true motivation for Mr Leissner’s crimes: greed,” said Ruemmler.
Leissner admitted to pocketing US$73.4 million directly from 1MDB and receiving another US$80 million from Malaysian fugitive financier Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the scheme.
The fraud led to investigations in at least six countries and toppled Malaysia’s former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is now in prison.
Leissner’s lawyer, Henry Mazurek, fired back at Goldman’s remarks, calling them “astounding.”
“Mr Leissner spent the last several years cooperating with the Department of Justice to expose the corporate culture and institutional greed which fuelled the behaviour that corrupted the 1MDB project,” Mazurek reportedly said in a statement.
Leissner himself has asked the court to spare him a prison sentence, citing his cooperation with US authorities and his role in exposing “the complex money-laundering scheme at 1MDB.”
In a letter to the court, he acknowledged the gravity of his crimes: “I know how terrible my crime was… I helped steal billions of dollars not just from individuals, but from an entire nation.”
When he pleaded guilty in 2018, Leissner directly blamed Goldman’s “culture” for enabling the fraud.
“I conspired with other employees and agents of Goldman Sachs very much in line of its culture… to conceal facts from certain compliance and legal employees of Goldman Sachs, including Jho Low,” he said in court.
Prosecutors noted in an earlier filing that Leissner is still cooperating in ongoing US investigations into other, unspecified crimes.
They credited him with providing information on “the role of powerful individuals in a global scheme to bribe government officials in two countries and divert billions of dollars into bank accounts around the world.”
While Goldman has acknowledged that it “didn’t adequately address red flags” in the deal team behind the 1MDB bond deals — on which it earned around US$600 million — it maintains that Leissner deceived the firm throughout.
Meanwhile, legal troubles may still await Leissner in Malaysia.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed earlier this month that the country has requested his extradition from the US.
Leissner faces up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for next week.