Jody Godoy

NEW YORK – Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker (NYSE:), is facing bribery charges and money laundering in connection to multibillion-dollar looting Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign fund.

This timeline shows the key events that led up to trial.

April 2014: Ng is no longer the managing director of Goldman Sachs and heads Southeast Asia sales for fixed-income, currencies, and commodities. The reason for his departure from Goldman Sachs was not specified. Ng helped to win the business of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (MDB) for the company.

July 15, 2015: The Wall Street Journal reported that Malaysian investigators traced almost $700 million of assets linked to 1MDB back to accounts held in Najib Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister. The claims were dismissed by Razak who described them as “political corruption.”

February 2016: Tim Leissner is a Goldman Sachs senior investment banker who was also chairman of the Southeast Asia branch. Leissner was responsible for arranging the sale of U.S. dollars bonds to 1MDB. Malaysian politicians were critical of the bank’s large-scale transactions.

July 2016: The U.S. Department of Justice files suit to seize properties connected to 1MDB. It claims that $3.5 Billion was stolen. The suits allege that these funds were used to buy high-end artwork, jewelry, and real estate and pay for the production of “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

July 2018: Malaysian authorities arrest Najib on suspicions related to 1MDB. The country had him as its leader for more than a decade. He recently lost an election bid.

November 2018, Brooklyn – U.S. Prosecutors bring criminal charges against Leissner and Ng, along with Low Taek Jho (Malaysian financier), for conspiring to launder money, bribe officials in Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, and through 1MDB bond offers. Leissner pleads guilty in conspiracy and is ordered to forfeit $43.7 million. Ng is held in Malaysia.

December 2018: Malaysia charges Goldman Sachs and Leissner with criminal offenses in connection to the Goldman Sachs, Leissner and Ng scandals. Low was not arrested by U.S. authorities or Malaysian officials.

May 2019, Ng is extradited by the United States to face criminal charges.

August 2019: Malaysia charges 17 directors and ex-directors of Goldman Sachs subsidiary companies with criminal prosecutions in connection to the 1MDB probe.

July 2020 – Najib was convicted for corruption and sentenced at 12 years in prison.

October 2020: Goldman announces it will pay $174m in executive compensation back to the U.S. Department of Justice, and $2.9billion to resolve the matter with U.S. regulators and U.S. officials. A Malaysian subsidiary of the bank pleaded guilty to conspiring in an American court.

December 20, 2121: A Malaysian court confirms Najib’s conviction for corruption in relation to the 1MDB scam. He said he would appeal against the Malaysian Supreme Tribunal’s decision.

Feb. 8, 2022. Chief Judge Margo Brodie picks 12 jurors for the case and six alternates. The hearing is scheduled to last between five and six weeks.

Feb. 14, 2022, Opening Arguments