Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years in 1MDB scandal

A US judge in New York on Thursday sentenced former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng to 10 years in prison following his conviction in the massive 1MDB bribery scandal.

A New York jury in April 2022 found Ng guilty in the scheme involving the state-owned Malaysian investment fund 1MDB following testimony from Tim Leissner, another former Goldman Sachs banker and a co-conspirator.

A forfeiture amount will be determined later, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a press release.

"Roger Ng was a central player in a brazen and audacious scheme that not only victimized the people of Malaysia, but also risked undermining the public's confidence in governments, markets, businesses and other institutions on a global scale," said US attorney Breon Peace.

"Today's sentence serves as a just punishment for the defendant's crimes and a warning that there is a significant price to pay for corporate corruption."

The 1MDB fund was set up to promote the Malaysian economy, but was spectacularly looted in a scandal that roiled the country's politics and marred Goldman's reputation.

Ng and his co-conspirators paid more than US$1 billion in bribes to government officials to secure three large bond transactions for Goldman with 1MDB, according to the DoJ.

Some of the money went to luxury items, such as a US$51 million Jean-Michael Basquiat painting and millions of dollars in Hermes handbags, the DoJ said.

Leissner, who pleaded guilty in August 2018 to two criminal charges, is awaiting sentencing, DoJ said.

A third co-conspirator, Low Taek Jho, remains at large, the DoJ said.

In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay US$2.9 billion in penalties in a DoJ settlement that included a guilty plea in US court by a Malaysian unit of the bank.