Najib: Leissner’s lying, my kids did not get Goldman job

PETALING JAYA: None of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s children have ever worked or been offered jobs at Goldman Sachs, the former prime minister said.

“While the headlines in local media hinted that I was bribed by Goldman Sachs with offers to (get) my children work at the bank, what former South-East Asia chairman Tim Leissner described was ‘their attempt’ to bribe me.

“This didn’t happen and none of my children was ever offered a job at Goldman Sachs and had never worked at that US bank,” he wrote on Facebook yesterday.

Najib added that Leisnner made the introductions for his daughter to apply for a job at American investment company TPG Capital in Hong Kong, which has nothing to do with Goldman Sachs. He said it was no secret that his daughter used to work at TPG Capital for about a year.

“The position was not even high – just as an investor relations professional,” he said.

“I wonder why the media is playing up my children’s jobs issue when Leissner’s statement in court also included allegations that Bank Negara’s approval for 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) transferring US$1bil in funds to PetroSaudi and Good Star was given immediately.”

Leissner had told the court in New York that he had heard from his subordinate Roger Ng about the bribery to expedite the approval.

Leissner – the star witness in the bribery trial of former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Ng – testified that ex-Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein met Najib in 2009 ahead of a US$6.5bil in bond deals for 1MDB, and that the meeting came with an agenda.

In return for the lucrative business, Goldman Sachs was to get Najib’s three children jobs at the bank, Leissner claimed.

In the end, he said, he just helped Najib’s daughter get a job at TPG Capital.