This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 1, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed Dec 16 for the next case mention of the summons against three Goldman Sachs entities for allegedly misleading investors in the issuance of three 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) bonds.

Following the first case mention before High Court Deputy Registrar Catherine Nicholas yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Aaron Paul Chelliah told theedgemarkets.com that the new case mention date was to ensure sufficient time for the defence to submit their affidavit on the prosecution’s application.

Goldman Sachs was represented by counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik. The case is in the midst of being transferred from the Magistrate’s Court to the High Court.

Malaysia is the first country in the world to prosecute Goldman Sachs as a company, filing charges in December last year against Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, Goldman Sachs International (UK) and Goldman Sachs (Singapore), and is seeking US$2.7 billion (RM11.29 billion) in fines.

The government alleges that Goldman Sachs misled investors in the issuance of the three 1MDB bonds. It is also demanding the return of US$600 million that the investment bank pocketed as fees.

Putrajaya also separately filed summons against 17 current and former Goldman Sachs executives, whom it accuses of misleading investors by making false statements and omitting key facts in relation to issuance of 1MDB-related bonds worth US$6.5 billion.