Report: Najib wanted bank jobs for his kids in return for business deals, ex-Goldman banker testifies

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — A key witness in the US bribery trial against Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng has reportedly testified that the bank’s former chairman and chief executive officer, Lloyd Blankfein, had a meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009 that led to corrupt business deals.

According to a report by Bloomberg today, the witness, Tim Leissner — who was Goldman’s former South-east Asia operations chairman — said that the meeting culminated in an agreement to get three of Najib’s children jobs at the bank, in return for large amounts of business.

This was before the bank's role in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), issuing US$6.5 billion (RM27.2 billion) worth of bonds for itself and its subsidiaries, with fees amounting to US$600 million (approximately RM2.51 billion).

Leissner, 52, was reportedly explaining how he and his subordinate Ng, had worked with fugitive Low Taek Jho — often called Jho Low — in the 1MDB scandal.

At Ng’s trial in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York today, Leissner reportedly read out an email he received from Ng that said: “Just met PM’s three children with Jho at his apartment”.

“Sounds good my friend. Get them in,” is what Leissner reportedly replied.

However, Leissner was quoted as saying that he only helped Najib’s daughter Nooryana Najwa get a job at TPG Capital.

Leissner also reportedly testified that the meeting between Blankfein and Najib had occurred at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York — based on recommendations by Low — after Najib went to the US to meet his children for the Thanksgiving holidays, which is celebrated there in late November every year.

He was also quoted as testifying that he and Ng used codenames when referring to Jho, such as “Friend” and “PMO” (for the Prime Minister’s Office), to avoid detection by Goldman’s oversight officials.

“Had we raised [Low’s] name in his true capacity, we would not have been approved [by the oversight officials],” Leissner reportedly said, explaining that Goldman had concerns about the source of Low’s wealth.

According to the report, Leissner described Low as “essential” and “a key decision maker” in securing business in Malaysia, and added that Low had secretly given Goldman’s bankers inside information on how 1MDB was choosing a bank to advise it.

Additionally, he reportedly said that Low had even proposed a deal involving hiring Goldman to oversee the purchase of a Kazakh gold mine.

This is the second time that Leisnner took to the stand in this trial — with the first being on February 17 — where he is cooperating with the US government’s investigation after pleading guilty in 2018 to similar crimes.

Leissner was reported to have previously testified in the trial that began on February 14 that he and Ng were “best friends” and had worked together to deceive their bosses at Goldman about supposed bribes received for the 1MDB deal.

Ng was head of Goldman’s Malaysian head of investment banking and is charged with conspiring with Leissner to launder money in violation of US anti-bribery laws.

To date, Ng is the only former Goldman banker to claim trial in the scandal.