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U.S. prosecutors cast doubt on ex-Goldman banker’s wife testimony at 1MDB trial -Breaking

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© Reuters. FILEPHOTO: Roger Ng (ex-Goldman Sachs banker) arrives at the United States Courthouse Brooklyn, New York to face his criminal trial. This is on February 22nd, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors Tuesday challenged the testimony of the spouse of a former Goldman Sachs banker (NYSE:). The wife is being tried over claims that he helped to loot Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth funds.

Roger Ng (Goldman’s former Malaysia chief) is being charged with conspiring and violating anti-corruption laws. Prosecutors allege that he assisted his former boss Tim Leissner in embezzling money from 1MDB, laundering the proceeds, and bribing officials to secure business deals for Goldman.

Ng (49) has pleaded guilty but not guilty.

Hwee bin Lim, Ng’s wife, said Monday she had made $6 million investments in China in the middle 2000s. It was in a Chinese firm owned by Judy Chan, Leissner’s former-wife. Lim claimed that she was able to get around $35 million in return for her investment made in 2012 and 2013.

Prosecutors claim that the money was actually kickbacks Leissner received from Ng through the 1MDB Scheme. Assistant U.S. Prosecutor Alixandra Smith interrogated Lim on Tuesday and found that Lim had lost a two-page agreement signed with Chan, which described the deal. There were no updates regarding investment performance.

Smith repeated her question to Lim, asking why, despite having been trained as a corporate attorney, she refused to produce documents or maintain records.

Lim stated that documents are not necessary for investment in China. Lim said, “Where can I get it enforced?”

Leissner, who admitted to similar crimes to Ng in 2018, said last month that the investment that involved the women of Ng and Leissner was just a cover story to justify kickback payments to banks to process the transfer.

These charges are a result of one of the most scandalous financial transactions in American history. The US prosecutors claim that $4.5 billion of $6.5 billion Goldman’s 1MDB fund was diverted to bankers, government officials and others through kickbacks, bribes, and corruption.

Goldman, in 2020, paid nearly $3B in penalties and organized for Malaysia’s unit to plead guilty at U.S. courts.

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