Singapore to send RM106mil of 1MDB money from ex-Goldman banker back to Malaysia

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singaporean authorities are preparing to return about S$35mil (RM106.4mil) surrendered by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng and his family in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal to Malaysia, according to people familiar with the matter.

A Singaporean court in recent weeks cleared the way for the funds to be repatriated, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing sensitive information.

Singapore authorities didn't immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comments.

Ng's lawyer didn't immediately respond to calls or an e-mail for comment.

Ng faces charges in Malaysia and the United States for his involvement in US$6.5bil (RM26.9bil) of bond sales that Goldman arranged for the troubled state fund 1MDB.

The authorities in several countries, including the United States, have alleged that much of the money raised was siphoned off to enrich politicians.

Former Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is currently standing trial on 1MDB-related charges in Kuala Lumpur.

Ng has denied wrongdoing. He was deputy to Goldman's former South-East Asia chairman Tim Leissner, who has pleaded guilty to US charges including conspiring to launder money.

Both men have been banned from the US financial industry by the Federal Reserve.

Singapore in September ordered the first batch of misappropriated 1MDB money – S$15.3mil (RM46.5mil) that was recovered in various currencies – to be returned to Malaysia. – Bloomberg