NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� A former Goldman Sachs banker was convicted Friday of bribery and other corruption charges accusing him of participating in a $4.5 billion scheme to ransack the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB.
A jury reached the verdict at the U.S. trial of Roger Ng in federal court in Brooklyn. Jurors had heard nearly two months of evidence about tens of millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks allegedly orchestrated by Malaysian financier and fugitive socialite Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters outside court that he was surprised by the verdict because 鈥渢he evidence wasn鈥檛 reliable,鈥� and that he was considering an appeal. He also said the defense team was more disappointed than his client.
Ng 鈥渋s doing better than his lawyers,鈥� Agnifilo said. 鈥淗e has great fortitude.鈥�
The embezzlement bankrolled lavish spending on jewels, art, a superyacht and luxury real estate. The spoils even helped finance wild parties and Hollywood movies, including the 2013 Martin Scorsese film 鈥淭he Wolf of Wall Street鈥� that starred Leonardo DiCaprio.
鈥淲ith today鈥檚 verdict, a powerful message has been delivered to those who commit financial crimes motivated by greed,鈥� U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Ng faces up to 30 years in prison. No sentencing date was set.
A former head of investment banking in Malaysia, Ng is in the 1MDB scandal. The 49-year-old had pleaded not guilty to three counts 鈥� conspiring to launder money and violating two anti-bribery laws.
Prosecutors alleged that Ng and other Goldman Sachs bankers helped 1MDB raise $6.5 billion through bond sales 鈥� only to divert $4.5 billion of it to themselves and their co-conspirators through bribes and kickbacks.
鈥淭he harm to the people of Malaysia is immeasurable,鈥� prosecutor Alixandra Smith said during closing arguments. 鈥淚t is deeply unfair to everyone else who plays by the rules.鈥�
Ng鈥檚 defense attorneys have described the looting of 1MDB state investment fund as 鈥減erhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world.鈥� But they contend U.S. prosecutors scapegoated Ng for crimes committed by others, including the government鈥檚 star witness, Tim Leissner.
鈥淩oger is basically the fall guy for this whole thing,鈥� Agnifilo said in his closing argument. 鈥淎nd Tim Leissner is looking to close the biggest deal of his life.鈥�
Agnifilo accused Leissner, a higher-ranking Goldman banker, of falsely implicating Ng in a bid for leniency in his own criminal case.
Leissner 鈥渘ever stopped lying ever, and he didn鈥檛 stop lying in this courtroom,鈥� Agnifilo said.
During several days on the witness stand, Leissner testified that he, Ng and Low used offshore accounts and shell companies to 鈥渄isguise the flow of funds.鈥� The money laundering efforts also involved drawing up fake contracts with banks, he said.
鈥淚f we told any bank the truth, it wouldn鈥檛 work,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he house of cards would have fallen down.鈥�
He also described a dinner in London around 2012 where Low informed he and Ng they would be receiving kickbacks. Leissner said he knew that would be illegal, but didn鈥檛 care because if the deal went through he would be 鈥渁 hero鈥� at Goldman Sachs.
Ng, he added, was 鈥減articularly glad he was going to be paid some money鈥� because he felt the firm had undercompensated him over the years.
The defense claimed that some of the $35 million Ng received through Leissner 鈥� money prosecutors said were illicit proceeds from the scheme 鈥� was actually the proceeds of a legitimate business transaction between the two men鈥檚 wives.
On cross-examination, Ng's attorney by peppering him with questions about his history of lying about his marital status. He admitted he forged documents in 2014 to dupe his now-estranged wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, into believing he was divorced so she would agree to marry him. Simmons is a model, reality TV personality and ex-wife of rap mogul Russell Simmons.
Leissner, 52, pleaded guilty in 2018 to paying millions of dollars in bribes to government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. He was ordered to forfeit $43.7 million as part of his guilty plea and agreed to testify against Ng.
Low, who maintains his innocence, became well known in the New York City and Los Angeles club scenes. In 2012, he threw an opulent 31st birthday bash attended by DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian and other celebrities 鈥� a fete described by The Wall Street Journal as the 鈥渨ildest party (Las) Vegas ever saw.鈥�
The looting of the state investment fund led to the fall of Prime Minister Najib Razak鈥檚 government in 2018. Najib was later of abuse of power and other crimes related to the scandal and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Tom Hays, The Associated Press
