After a 7-week trial, US authorities have found Malaysian citizen and a former Goldman Sachs Managing Director Ng Chong Hwa guilty of laundering billions of dollars embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Ng is also guilty of conspiring to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi and evading the internal accounting controls of Goldman Sachs.
Between approximately 2009 and 2014, while serving as a Managing Director of various subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs, Ng conspired with others to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB. 1MDB is a Malaysian government fund meant for development projects to advance the country and its people.
Ng and others conspired to pay bribes worth a billion dollars to 12 government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The purpose of the bribes was to obtain and retain lucrative business for Goldman Sachs. The conspirators also schemed to launder the criminal proceeds through the US financial system by investing in Hollywood productions like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, investing in real estate, procuring artwork from an auction house, and purchasing other luxury items. Ng and others further conspired to evade Goldman Sachs’ internal accounting controls. Overall, Ng and co-conspirators misappropriated over $2.7 billion from 1MDB. As of now, one of Ng’s co-conspirators is absconding while another is awaiting sentencing.
Source: US Department of Justice
