Najib hopes his MACC report against Leissner will lead to disclosure of bribed officials' names

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against ex-Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner so that the authorities could question him or request his extradition.

This was in order to expose the names of officials from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the government who allegedly received bribes from Leissner in the 1MDB scandal, Najib told reporters outside MACC headquarters on Wednesday (Oct 27).

Although Leissner had pleaded guilty in court to giving the bribes and Goldman Sachs had to pay compensation of RM16.4bil to the Malaysian government, the names of the bribed officials were never made public.

Najib said he was very curious why the government and the prosecution did not seem keen to know and take action against the officials bribed by Leissner.

"Goldman Sachs senior manager Tim Leissner pleaded guilty in court that he had bribed several individuals from 1MDB companies and the Malaysian government whose names were not made public.

"As a result, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay compensation of US$3.9bil equivalent to RM16.4bil to the Malaysian government last year.

"Earlier this year, my lawyer managed to win a case in the United States to get a list of names in Leissner's confession of those he had bribed.

"However, the US government through the Department of Justice (DOJ) objected to the US court decisions and prevented the names from being disclosed," said Najib.

He added that at the time, a lawyer from law firm Brahman and Associates representing Roger Ng, another senior manager of Goldman Sachs, had issued a media statement that the list of names was "exculpatory evidence" that could clear Najib's name in the 1MDB cases.

Subsequently, in the middle of this year, Najib said his legal team had also asked the court and the prosecution to disclose the list of names but their efforts were fruitless.

"I am very curious why the Malaysian government and the prosecution do not seem to want to know and take action against the names of 1MDB and government officials who have been bribed by Leissner until Goldman Sachs had to pay penalties and damages of up to RM16.4bil to the Malaysian government.

"Therefore, I was advised to make an MACC report today against Leissner so that the Malaysian authorities can question or extradite him or request a list of names from the DOJ so that these names can be made public and appropriate action taken," he said.

Najib faces 42 counts of corruption and money laundering related to the multi-billion-ringgit 1MDB scandal.

He was convicted on seven charges by the High Court in July last year and was appealing his conviction.