Goldman Is in Talks to Settle Malaysia Fund Scandal

The bank has said it was cooperating with the investigation. Andrew Williams, a bank spokesman, said resolution discussions were continuing, “And it is irresponsible to speculate on an outcome.” A spokesman for federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who are overseeing the investigation declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported the potential guilty plea earlier Thursday.

The bank could instead reach a deferred prosecution agreement, an arrangement in which prosecutors drop all charges if the bank complies with a number of provisions.

Last year, a former Goldman partner, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty to helping orchestrate the fraud, which involved the sale of bonds to raise money for 1MDB. The bank has said that Mr. Leissner had acted on his own, but that it could have to pay significant penalties to resolve the matter.

On Monday, Mr. Leissner was barred by securities regulators from working in the banking industry. The settlement said unnamed “senior executives” at the bank knew Mr. Leissner did not tell the truth during an Oct. 10, 2012 meeting, when he was asked whether Mr. Low, whom Goldman’s compliance department had declined several times to approve as a client, had any involvement in the bond deals. Prosecutors in charging documents have tended to avoid using the phrase “senior executives” to refer to others at Goldman who may have known about the bribery scheme.

Mr. Low, who was also charged by federal prosecutors and Malaysian authorities, is believed to be living in China and has not made an appearance in court to respond to the charges.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/business/goldman-sachs-1mdb.html?emc=rss&partner=rss