KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): Roger Ng's wife Lim Hwee Bin had sought the help of fugitive businessman Jho Low and then Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to secure her husband's release after he was detained in Singapore in 2017.
This was revealed by Tim Leissner in his testimony in the trial against Ng in New York on Tuesday (March 1). The Edge has obtained the full transcript of Leissner’s testimony in front of a jury.
It was also revealed that Leissner himself was detained for the first time by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Feb 26, 2016 at JFK international airport in New York and again at the Nevada airport on March 14. Statements were taken and he was released. He was eventually arrested by the FBI in June, 2018 and charged.
He also told the court that he, Ng and their wives were worried by the FBI investigation and had sought the help of a feng shui (Chinese geomancy) master in Hong Kong.
Leissner, 50, who is the star witness in the trial, said that sometime in 2017 he received a call from Hwee Bin, who was upset that Ng had been detained by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore police.
“Ng wasn't allowed to leave Singapore and his passport was taken. I got to know this after receiving a call from Hwee Bin, his wife who was very upset over the detention. I also received a call from Jho (Low) as well who was very concerned that Ng had been investigated in Singapore and had to face questions there,” he added in his testimony when questioned by prosecutor Drew Rolle.
According to Leissner, Hwee Bin told her that her husband was keeping a tight narrative and focused on the bond transactions (in relation to 1MDB) and that he was not releasing any information around the scheme.
“She told me that her husband was also minimising my role in this as much as possible,” he said in his testimony
The former Goldman Sachs banker added that he was in the US when he got the call and was concerned over it as here was his friend and colleague, who was part of the scheme, being interviewed by the authorities about exactly that scheme.
“I was very concerned about what he (Ng) was going to say. So, yes, I was very interested — about what he was saying. At that time, I was in the US and also being subpoenaed,” he said.
Spoke to Jho Low, Geh who sought Najib's help
Leissner said Hwee Bin also told him that she spoke to Jho Low and also Terence Geh, who was 1MDB's deputy chief financial officer and Ng's close friend. Geh is also a close confidante of Jho Low.
“She had spoken to both of those to seek help from the Malaysian government to get Ng released in Singapore so there would be a government effort to get him back to Malaysia.”
“Jho, who I spoke to also, because we shared, again, the same concerns, as being part of the scheme, Jho was very concerned about what Ng was saying to the police and the Singapore authorities. Jho confirmed that he had spoken to Hwee Bin and that Geh had spoken to him and he was actually saying he was talking (actively) to the Prime Minister Najib and the Attorney General to seek Roger's release,” he told the New York court.
Rolle: Now, you have mentioned that you spoke to Jho Low as well about Ng's detention in Singapore?
Leissner: Yes, sir.
Rolle: And, again, why were you staying in communication with Jho Low about that subject?
Leissner: Because, again, we shared a concern that Ng had been put in this situation and that he was being questioned about this very scheme that we were trying to hide and that we knew was illegal, so we shared the same concern. I was also trying to see if Jho, in fact, was, you know, making an effort to get him out of Singapore and back to Malaysia, which he said he was doing, confirming what Hwee Bin had told me before, that he was speaking to the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to seek his release.
Using WeChat and code names
Fearing Ng's mobile phone or Hwee Bin's phone have been tapped, Leissner said he had resorted to not communicating directly with Ng and instead used WeChat to communicate with Ng's wife using code names.
“Hwee Bin was afraid, and I shared that concern too, that as Ng was being investigated in Singapore that his phone was no longer secure in terms of communicating on that phone, meaning that he would either be listened to or any messages going to him would be received by the authorities there.
“So it was my understanding from her, and I shared that the phone was no longer secure to communicate with Ng,” he added.
Leissner said they resorted to using WeChat, the Chinese version of WhatsApp, and “we thought that was at least a step removed from any other authorities around the world and that China would probably be a safe bet with WeChat”.
Hence, he added they stuck to WeChat as a mode of communication including with Jho Low who had switched from Blackberry messengers to WeChat at about the same time.
Leissner said he would use the chat name of Forza and Hwee Bin's was Morning Dew and they communicated frequently including making phone and video calls using that application.
The witness said Ng was finally released by the Singapore authorities on Nov 17, 2017 and allowed to return to Malaysia and he had exchanges with Hwee Bin about the release.
Rolle: And you say, “Heard of the great news”? to Hwee Bin
Leissner: Yes (on the release) and I said “Sending my love to you both”. I expressed my happiness that he (Ng) had been released.
Ng, however, was eventually arrested and charged in Malaysia in 2019 after Najib lost power in the 2018 elections.
He was then deported to the US and was charged. In Malaysia, he and his wife are also subject to forfeiture proceedings by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Ng also faces charges under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, in Kuala Lumpur, and had claimed trial on Dec 19, 2018, of four counts of abetting Goldman Sachs over the sale of 1MDB bonds totalling US$6.5 billion (RM26.71 billion) by leaving out material facts and making false statements.