NEW YORK — A former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison for his role in a $4.5 billion scheme to ransack a Malaysian state investment fund.
He served as a key government witness in the trial of Roger Ng, a fellow former Goldman Sachs banker who was sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in federal prison.
Leissner is due to report to prison Sept. 15 and his lawyers have requested that he be sent to the federal prison in Otisville, New York, according to the prosecutors.
Leissner cooperated not only to obtain leniency at sentencing, but to show his true remorse for his actions and tell the full story of 1MDB and Goldman Sachs,” Mazurek said in an email.
“He did that and will continue to tell all who will listen about the poisonous culture at Goldman that inspired the 1MDB scheme.”
NEW YORK— A former Goldman Sachs banker who participated in a $4.55 billion scheme to embezzle a Malaysian state investment fund was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Thursday.
During his sentencing in federal court in Brooklyn, Tim Leissner expressed regret to the Malaysian people, whom he referred to as the “real victims” of the scheme.
In a statement his attorneys provided and read in court, he stated, “The money raised more than ten years ago could have had a profoundly positive impact on the country and its citizens.”. Rather, they were misappropriated because of my greed and the greed of those who were involved with me. “.”.
The Malaysian investment fund, also known as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund, raised $6.25 billion through bond sales with the assistance of Leissner and other Goldman Sachs bankers, according to the prosecution.
However, they claim that over $4.05 billion of the money was stolen and laundered through kickbacks and bribes.
Prosecutors claim that the loot funded extravagant spends on luxury real estate, jewelry, art, a superyacht, and wild parties. Additionally, they contributed to the financing of Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2013 Martin Scorsese film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”.
In 2018, the scandal caused the government of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to collapse. A Malaysian court later found Najib guilty of abuse of power and other scandal-related offenses, and he was given a 12-year prison term.
On Thursday, Leissner declared, “What we did was clearly wrong, and I accept full responsibility for my role.”. “I sincerely apologize for what I did, and I would immediately take it back if I could. “”.
In 2018, Leissner entered a guilty plea to bribing Abu Dhabi and Malaysian government officials.
In the trial of Roger Ng, another former Goldman Sachs banker who was given a 10-year federal prison sentence in 2023, he was a crucial government witness.
Ng’s attorneys claimed that prosecutors used him as a scapegoat for crimes committed by others, including the higher-ranking Leissner, but they also called the looting of 1MDB “perhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world.”.
On Thursday, the prosecution chose not to comment on the sentence. While Leissner’s attorneys had requested a sentence of time already served, they had not requested a specific prison term in their filings prior to sentencing.
Leissner will be reporting to prison in September. 15 and the prosecution claims that his attorneys have asked for his transfer to the federal prison in Otisville, New York.
Leissner is ready to serve his sentence, according to his attorney, Henry Mazurek. “It includes a forfeiture of $43.7 million, which has already been paid to Malaysia, and two years of supervised release following prison,” he said.
“Mr. In addition to cooperating to receive leniency at sentencing, Leissner also demonstrated genuine regret for his actions and provided the whole 1MDB and Goldman Sachs story, Mazurek wrote in an email. He did that and will keep on telling everyone he meets about the toxic culture at Goldman that served as the impetus for the 1MDB scam. “”.
