Malaysia charges another ex-Goldman Sachs banker over 1MDB

Malaysia on Wednesday charged a second former banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc in connection with a suspected money-laundering scheme at state fund 1MDB and said it had issued a summons to the bank.

Malaysia this week filed charges against Goldman Sachs in connection with its role as underwriter and arranger of bond sales that raised $6.5 billion for 1MDB, the first criminal action against the bank over 1MDB.

Tim Leissner, a former partner for Goldman Sachs in Asia, was also charged this week.

Goldman Sachs has consistently denied wrongdoing and on Monday said certain members of the former Malaysian government and 1MDB lied to the bank about the proceeds of the bond sales.

The US Justice Department has estimated that a total of $4.5 billion was misappropriated by high-level 1MDB fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014, including some of the funds that Goldman Sachs helped raise.

On Wednesday, Malaysian prosecutors charged the second former Goldman banker, Roger Ng, a Malaysian, with four counts of abetting the bank to provide misleading statements in the offering prospectus for the bonds that the bank helped sell for 1MDB.

Ng, who appeared in court to hear the charges, pleaded not guilty to all of them.

The case will be heard next on March 18, with prosecutor Manoj Kurup saying he needed time to ensure the attendance of Goldman Sachs.