Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): The verdict against former Goldman Sachs banker Ng Chong Hwa, aka Roger Ng, is a victory for not only the rule of law, but also for the people of Malaysia, said US Attorney Breon Peace.

Following an eight-week trial, Ng was found guilty of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to a dozen foreign officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, conspiring to violate the FCPA by circumventing the internal accounting controls of Goldman Sachs, and conspiring to launder billions of dollars related to the scheme.

In a statement on Friday (April 8), Peace said the bribery and money laundering scheme related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) investment development fund was massive in its scale.

He said Ng and his co-conspirators embezzled billions of dollars from the fund.

“It was brazen in its execution — Ng obtained lucrative business for his employer by bribing a dozen government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.

“And it was obscene in its greed,” he said.

Meanwhile, FBI’s criminal investigative division assistant director Luis Quesada said the FBI and domestic and international law enforcement partners maintain an unwavering commitment to combating international corruption.

“This conviction serves as a reminder that the FBI will always hold accountable those who abuse the US financial system to further their corrupt schemes, as well as the persons and companies that enable them,” Quesada said.

Piggy bank

Peace said Ng and his cronies saw 1MDB not as an entity to do good for the people of Malaysia, but as a piggy bank to enrich themselves with piles of money siphoned from the fund.

He said between 2012 and 2013, Ng received more than US$35 million in kickbacks for his role in the scheme to steal and launder billions of dollars from 1MDB, including funds 1MDB raised in 2012 and 2013 through three bond transactions and to use that money for bribes.

He said Ng also conspired to circumvent Goldman Sachs’s internal accounting controls to ensure that Goldman Sachs would approve the three bond deals that were critical to the scheme.

“Ng conspired with others to launder the proceeds through the United States financial system by purchasing, among other things, luxury real estate in New York City, valuable artwork, jewellery, and funding Hollywood films like 'The Wolf of Wall Street',” he said.

Greed is not good

Peace said in another film made about Wall Street, not related to the criminal scheme in this case, a character infamously suggested that greed is good.

“But, greed is not good, particularly when it leads to corruption and abuse, circumvention of corporate policies and controls, and the violation of federal law.

“With the verdict, a powerful message has been delivered to those who commit financial crimes motivated by greed. 

“You will be caught, prosecuted and convicted, like Ng, and face a long prison sentence,” he said.

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