KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Efforts to extradite former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng to the US ground to halt today after his absence from proceedings was contested.

According to a news reports today, the hearing has now been postponed to January 4 after Ng’s counsel applied for the former banker to by physically present during the proceedings.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Shukor Abu Bakar said they did not bring Ng to court as they were not aware that it was necessary for him to be present.

Ng, who was arrested early in November pursuant to a request by US authorities, is fighting his extradition there to face criminal charges of conspiracy to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB, and conspiring to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to various Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials.

He was arrested around the time Tim Leissner, Goldman Sachs former head of Southeast Asia, admitted guilt to similar charges as part of a plea bargain with US prosecutors.

Ng and his family previously agreed to surrender about US$29 million (RM 120.7 million) linked to 1MDB to Singapore authorities.

Malaysia has since filed its own criminal charges against Ng, Leissner as well as Goldman Sachs itself. It is also prosecuting fugitive financier Low Taek Jho or Jho Low and former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo for financial fraud.

Goldman responded by claiming it had acted in good faith on information provided at the time by key government officials whom it said had assured it that all the dealings were above board.

It also highlighted that 1MDB and its then-directors reported to the prime minister at the time, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Low, through an Australian publicist, similarly rejected the latest charges against him and maintained that he would not submit himself before the Malaysian courts that he said would not offer him a fair trial.