KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Tim Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker who admitted to his role in the massive 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fraud, has applied for a US presidential pardon ahead of his scheduled surrender to federal prison, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reported that Leissner filed his pardon application with the US Justice Department last year, with records on the department’s website showing it was submitted between September 3 and November 18.

Leissner, who previously served as Goldman’s Southeast Asia chairman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to participating in a scheme to embezzle about US$4.5 billion from 1MDB.

He later cooperated with US prosecutors and became a key witness against former Goldman colleague Roger Ng at a 2022 trial in Brooklyn, New York.

The clemency request comes as the White House reviews thousands of applications, including high-profile cases involving Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, Bloomberg said.

Last week, US President Donald Trump granted clemency to more than 20 individuals, including several convicted of white-collar crimes.

According to the report,at Leissner’s sentencing in May, both he and prosecutors urged the court to spare him a prison term, citing his cooperation, which led to Roger Ng’s conviction and billions of dollars in global penalties against Goldman.

However, US District Judge Margo Brodie sentenced him to two years in prison, describing his conduct as “brazen and audacious”.

Goldman ultimately paid more than US$5 billion to resolve global probes linked to 1MDB, including US$2.9 billion for violations of US anti-bribery laws, Bloomberg reported. 

The bank has also sued Leissner, seeking to recover at least US$20.7 million in compensation it paid him during his work on 1MDB transactions.

Goldman won an arbitration award for that amount in 2022, which was upheld by a federal judge in Manhattan the following year.

Leissner, a German citizen, is scheduled to surrender to a prison facility in Southern California early next month.

Judge Brodie initially ordered him to begin serving his sentence on November 17, but allowed him to remain free until January 12. His lawyer later requested a further delay until February 6, citing the need to find a facility closer to his family.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn declined to comment, while Leissner’s lawyer, Henry Mazurek, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg reported.

The 1MDB scandal led to the downfall of Malaysia’s former government and triggered investigations in at least six countries.

During Roger Ng’s trial, Leissner testified that he worked closely with Ng and fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, who US authorities have identified as the alleged mastermind of the scheme.

Ng was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison before being extradited to Malaysia in 2023 to face further charges.