By Luc Cohen

(Reuters) – Opening statements in former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) banker Roger Ng’s U.S. corruption trial https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/rogue-employee-or-goldman-scapegoat-ex-bankers-1mdb-corruption-trial-kick-off-2022-02-10 over the looting of hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund are scheduled to get under way this week.

Ng has pleaded innocent to conspiring against an anti-bribery statute and to launder cash. Below is a description of Ng’s accusations and what he can do to defend himself.

BRIBERY

Ng faces one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This makes it unlawful to bribe foreign officials. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Ng, together with his former boss Tim Leissner and a Malaysian intermediary named Jho Low https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-1mdb/china-denies-harboring-1mdb-fugitive-jho-low-idUSKCN24U26R, bribed 1MDB officials to win business for Goldman https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-1mdb-settlement-explain/understanding-goldman-sachs-role-in-malaysias-1mdb-mega-scandal-idUSKBN2772HC.

Prosecutors in a 2021 indictment said Ng attended a 2012 meeting in London in which Low discussed with a 1MDB official the need to bribe officials in Malaysia https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-najib-explainer/explainer-malaysian-ex-pm-najib-and-the-1mdb-scandal-idUSKBN2IM1XM and Abu Dhabi. According to prosecutors, Low transferred $6 million of funds to 1MDB in 2013, according to prosecutors.

Low was charged in the United States with Ng’s murder in 2018. However, he hasn’t yet been seen in court.

CONTROLS FOR CIRCUMVENTING ACCOUNTING

Ng has also been charged with conspiring against a FCPA provision making it illegal for companies to bypass accounting controls designed to protect them from bribery.

Prosecutors claim that Ng and Leissner talked about 1MDB business via private, non-Goldman email addresses. Ng also attended a meeting where Leissner told Goldman executives that Low, whom they had come to distrust, was not part of a deal that would help 1MDB raise money.

MONEY LAUNDERING

Ng was also accused by the prosecution of conspiring to launder money using FCPA-related funds. Low, Ng, and Leissner are accused of conspiring to use funds stolen from 1MDB by the U.S. Financial System to fund bribes.

Leissner, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to money laundering and bribery charges, is likely to testify against Ng.

DESPENSE OF THE NG

Marc Agnifilo is Ng’s lawyer. He said Ng had not been involved in Low and Leissner’s schemes. Agnifilo stated that Leissner told the prosecutors Ng was involved in the scheme to lower his sentence.

Agnifilo stated in a Nov 2020 court filing, that Ng had in fact instructed his superiors not to deal with Low and that Leissner didn’t tell Ng that Low was working secretly with him. Ng’s financial inflows, what prosecutors called ill-gotten gain by him, were also not connected to 1MDB.

NG’S POPULAR SENTENCE

Both the FCPA and money laundering charges carry maximum sentences of 5 years each. U.S. district Judge Margo Brodie is currently deciding the sentence for Ng.

GOLDMAN SCHACHS TRIAL: WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

Goldman in 2020 paid a $2.3 billion fine https://www.reuters.com/article/goldmansachs-1mdb-settlement/goldman-to-pay-3-billion-claw-back-executive-pay-over-role-in-1mdb-corruption-scandal-idUSKBN2772E3, returned $600 million in ill-gotten gains and agreed for its Malaysian subsidiary to plead guilty in U.S. court as part of a deal, known as a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), with the Department of Justice.

Although the trial may shed some light on Goldman’s response to possible corruption warnings, it is not likely that any material harm will be done to the bank.