Ex-Goldman banker’s wife says she has no proof of investments

NEW YORK: The wife of the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker on trial in the 1MDB scandal said she has no documentation proving that $35mil allegedly paid to him as an illegal kickback was actually a return on a legitimate investment.

Ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng’s wife, Hwee Bin Lim, testified Monday in his defense that she invested her parents’ money in businesses controlled by the then-wife of Ng’s boss at the time, Tim Leissner.

But under questioning Tuesday from a federal prosecutor, Lim said she had no records showing that a payment to her offshore account was for an investment she’d made earlier with Judy Chan Leissner in China.

When Assistant U.S. Attorney Alixandra Smith asked why not, Lim testified she no longer has the single letter she received from Chan Leissner acknowledging receipt of the funds.

"When you invest in China, there’s no point for documents,” Lim said.

"Even if I have a document, where do I go to enforce it?”

Pressed further by Smith about how the Lim family’s funds were transferred to Chan Leissner, Lim said, "Judy can explain.”

Lim said she and her brother, who are both lawyers, didn’t ask questions about the investment and that Chan Leissner never told her exactly how much it was worth. - Bloomberg