NEW YORK: Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Tim Leissner reported to federal prison to begin serving a two-year sentence for one of the largest financial frauds in history.
Leissner surrendered himself on Friday (Feb 6) at a federal correctional facility in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, his lawyer Henry Mazurek said.
His incarceration comes eight years after he pleaded guilty to helping embezzle US$4.5bil from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund.
The fraud toppled the Malaysian government and resulted in Goldman paying more than US$5bil to settle alleged misconduct claims.
The German-born Leissner, 56, admitted early on to participating in a scheme led by Malaysian financier Jho Low. Leissner became the government’s star witness at the 2022 US trial of former Goldman colleague Roger Ng.
Low, who denied wrongdoing before he was charged by the US in 2018, remains a fugitive.
Of the US$6.5bil Goldman raised for 1MDB bond transactions, Leissner testified that at least US$4.5bil was embezzled.
He said Low paid about US$2bil in bribes to foreign officials, while another US$1bil was paid in kickbacks to participants in the scheme.
Leissner admitted that he himself pocketed US$73.4mil from 1MDB and another US$80mil from Low.
Since his sentencing in May, Leissner was granted four adjournments in his prison surrender date.
US District Judge Margo Brodie late Thursday (Feb 5) rejected another request for a delay and ordered him to report to prison.
Ng was convicted by a federal jury and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Shortly before he was due to begin serving his sentence in 2023, Ng was sent to his native Malaysia to face trial there, under an agreement with the US.
The Malaysian government announced in December it was also seeking Leissner’s extradition.
Leissner filed a pardon application to the US Justice Department last year, according to a notice on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) website.
Mazurek said a pardon was appropriate given his client’s role in uncovering violations by Goldman and others. — Bloomberg
