In a U.S. court, former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner has admitted to taking $60 million in kickbacks, lying to the bank about his corrupt deals, and twice forging divorce documents to take on new wives, Reuters reported. Despite his history of deceit, Leissner is the key witness prosecutors are asking jurors to believe in the trial of Roger Ng, a former colleague of Leissner's at Goldman who is charged with helping loot Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund during a scheme that lasted from 2009 to 2014. Leissner in 2018 pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law, and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Ng pleaded not guilty to similar charges and is standing trial in Brooklyn federal court. In more than a week of testimony, Leissner has described his high-flying lifestyle as the lucrative 1MDB deals made him a "star," and the steps he took to avoid getting caught. The charges stem from some $6.5 billion in bonds Goldman helped 1MDB sell in 2012 and 2013. Prosecutors say $4.5 billion of that was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. Goldman in 2020 agreed to pay a $3 billion fine and have its Malaysia subsidiary plead guilty in U.S. court. The bank said at the time it did not adequately "scrutinize the representations of certain members of the deal team."
