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NY Feds Indict Malaysian Financier as Mastermind of $4B Real Estate Scheme

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On Thursday November 1st, a three-count criminal indictment was unsealed by the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of New York, indicting Malaysian Financier, Low Taek Jho, better known as “Jho Low”, as the mastermind behind the embezzlement of $4.5 Billion from the Malaysian development fund, 1MDB. Former Goldman Sachs Banker Ng Chong Hwa, also known as “Roger Ng,” has also been indicted. They are charged with three counts of conspiracy to launder billions of dollars in illegal proceeds, paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and for evading accounting controls, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “Jho Low”, 36, is still at large, and believed to be in China. “Roger Ng” , 51, was arrested on Thursday, in Malaysia.

As reported by Variety, the government also unsealed a criminal complaint against Tim Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia chairman. Leissner, 48, has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He has been ordered to forfeit $43.7 million.

According to the Justice Department’s press release, between approximately 2009 and 2014, as 1MDB raised money to fund its projects, billions of dollars were misappropriated and fraudulently diverted from 1MDB, including funds raised by 1MDB through three bond transactions in 2012 and 2013. The named collaborators allegedly conspired to bribe government officials in Malaysia, including at 1MDB, and Abu Dhabi to maintain lucrative business for the Financial Institution. They also conspired to launder the proceeds of their criminal activities through the U.S. financial system by purchasing, luxury residential real estate in New York City and elsewhere, buying works of art, including Van Gogh from a New York-based auction house, jewelry, a yacht, and by financing Hollywood films, such as “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

The federal charges are the first arising from the global scandal which has sparked investigations in six or more countries, and led to the tumble of the Malaysian government in May. Former Prime Minister, Najib Razak, is facing multiple charges of money-laundering and criminal breach of trust, due to his role in creating and managing the state-run 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund.

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

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