The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced that it is prohibiting Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa, also known as Roger Ng, from the banking industry for their participation in a scheme to illegally divert billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Leissner was also fined $1.42 million and consented to the permanent ban.
Leissner and Ng, former senior investment bankers employed by foreign subsidiaries of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., coordinated bond offerings arranged by Goldman for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2012 and 2013. The funds diverted from 1MDB were then used for the conspirators’ personal benefit and to bribe certain government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.
In August 2018, Leissner pleaded guilty to criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of New York for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and to commit money laundering. Ng was indicted in October 2018 on similar charges.
Additional enforcement actions can be searched for here.
