Goldman’s Ng to return to face trial in M’sia

High-profile case: Filepic showing Ng and his lawyer Marc Agnifilo leaving the federal court in New York. — Reuters

NEW YORK: Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, facing 10 years in prison after being convicted in New York of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, will be returned to that country where he faces related charges.

Chief US district judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn on Thursday ordered Ng’s surrender to the US Marshals Service by yesterday so he could be turned over to Malaysian law enforcement, who would transport him to their country.

Ng would be required upon returning to the United States to begin his prison term, prosecutors said in an earlier letter to Brodie.

His lawyers agreed to the proposed schedule, the letter said.

Lawyers for Ng, 51, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ng’s surrender date had been delayed from Sept 6, after US prosecutors said they needed more time to communicate with Kuala Lumpur about first letting him stand trial there.

On Sept 5, Singapore’s central bank banned Ng, also known as Ng Chong Hwa, for life, saying his “severe misconduct” made it “contrary to public interest to allow him to carry on business as a representative”.

The case stemmed from about US$6.5bil in bonds that Goldman helped 1Malaysia Development Bhd sell in 2012 and 2013.

US prosecutors said officials, bankers and their associates embezzled about US$4.5bil of that sum.

Ng is a Malaysian national and Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia.

Brodie sentenced Ng in March, 11 months after jurors found him guilty of helping former Goldman boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds, and bribe government officials to win business.

Leissner’s much-delayed sentencing is now scheduled for March 19, 2024. Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and the scheme’s suspected mastermind, was also indicted but remains at large.

Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay US$2.9bil and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge.

Ng was arrested in Malaysia in November 2018, and agreed to be extradited to the United States. — Reuters