Topic: Political Corruption & Conflict of Interest
Related news: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/04/12/probe-all-claims-by-leissner-in-roger-ngs-trial-says-group
Coverage by: The Malaysian Insight
PETALING JAYA: An anti-corruption watchdog has told the government to probe the claims made by former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner on Malaysians allegedly involved in the 1MDB bribery scandal.
Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) said the claims were made during the US trial of Roger Ng, the former head of Goldman Sachs in Malaysia, who was charged over his role in looting US$2.7 billion from 1MDB.
C4’s executive director, Cynthia Gabriel, said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police should investigate allegations by Leissner that several Malaysians, including former prime minister Najib Razak, former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her husband, Tawfiq Ayman, were involved.
She also called for an investigation into Ng’s wife, Lim Hwee Bin, and Leissner’s former wife, Judy Chan, for their alleged involvement in the scandal, and an asset declaration by all Malaysians named by Leissner.
“Malaysians have a right to know how much money ended up in the pockets of those who stole from the national coffers,” Cynthia said in a statement today.
“An update should be given on the police investigation into the whereabouts of Jho Low (Low Taek Jho), the key player in the 1MDB scandal who has continued to elude arrest.
“The former IGP (Abdul Hamid Bador) had given a deadline for the search but failed to meet it. The new IGP (Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani) has been silent on the matter.”
Cynthia also urged MACC and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to provide an update on whether Rohana Rozhan, the former chief executive officer of Astro, would face court action, and whether an asset recovery process had been launched.
Leissner had named Rohana in court testimony on Feb 22, saying he had a 10-year affair with her. He claimed that he had bought her a US$10 million house in London in exchange for her silence over his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.
Cynthia also called for the speedy completion of court cases involving 1MDB and SRC International as “these cases have suffered from too many delays”.
Ng is facing up to 30 years in prison after the jury found him guilty on all three counts – conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws, conspiring to launder money, and conspiring to sidestep Goldman’s internal accounting controls.
