Leissner claims he bought US$10 million home for Astro ex-boss after 1MDB blackmail

Former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner testified in a US court yesterday that he bought a US$10 million home in London for former Astro CEO Rohana Rozhan, with whom he was having an affair, after she threatened to expose his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

Leissner, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiring to launder money and violate US anti-bribery laws, said he bought Rohana the house in London in 2013 as she was “very upset” that he was ending their 10-year relationship to be with Kimora Lee Simmons, whom he later married.

“If I didn’t buy her a house, she would tell the authorities about my involvement in the 1MDB scandal. She was threatening to expose me. At the time, 2013, I was very fearful of that,” he was quoted as saying in a report by Bloomberg.

Leissner was chief of Goldman’s Southeast Asia operation and is testifying in the criminal trial of Roger Ng, the bank’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia.

He previously said that Ng was Goldman’s lead banker on 1MDB and had cultivated a relationship since 2008 with Penang businessman Low Taek Jho, who was the key intermediary between the bank and 1MDB.

Prosecutors have accused Ng of receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks for helping embezzle funds from 1MDB. Ng himself has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to launder money and to violate an anti-bribery law.

Speaking in court yesterday, Leissner said his relationship with Rohana was a “sensitive issue” as the bank did business with Astro.

He also said that his boss at the time, former Asia head Richard Gnodde, had urged him to “be careful about relationships with clients”.

Nonetheless, he said the affair had lasted from 2003 to 2013.

Ng’s lawyers previously sought to portray Leissner as a socialite who stole to finance a lavish lifestyle.

Prosecutors however said that Leissner’s testimony would be backed up by other evidence.

“He’ll give you an inside view of this bribery and money laundering scheme,” prosecutor Brent Wible was quoted as saying by Reuters.