1MDB: Goldman Sachs rips off Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund for $2.7 Billion

[Winehole23]

"In the course of the scheme, the defendant TIM LEISSNER, together with Co-Conspirator #1, Co-Conspirator #2 and others, did obtain and retain lMDB business for U.S. Financial Institution #1, including three bond offering transactions for lMDB in 2012 and 2013. These three bond offerings and related transactions ultimately earned U.S. Financial Institution #1 approximately $600 million in fees and revenue and resulted in LEISSNER, Co-Conspirator #2 and others obtaining large bonuses from U.S. Financial Institution #1 and enhanced their professional reputations at U.S. Financial Institution #1."


"Although the stated purpose of the approximately $6.5 billion raised by the three bond transactions was to support lMDB projects for the benefit of the Malaysian people, more than $2.7 billion was instead misappropriated by the defendant TIM LEISSNER and his co-conspirators."



The DOJ alleges (http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2018/11/1/ex-goldman-banker-forfeits-43-million-in-1mdb-guilty-plea.html) that Low, Leissner, Roger Ng, and others conspired to launder money in the United States by buying "luxury residential real estate in New York City and elsewhere, and artwork from a New York-based auction house, and by funding major Hollywood films," including the Wolf of Wall Street.http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2018/11/2/1mdb-is-a-nutty-story-heres-why.html

[clambake]

any trump properties?

[Winehole23]

I hope not.

[clambake]

5-6 years ago. going to trump properties for that purpose sounds like a no-brainer.

[boutons_deux]

5-6 years ago. going to trump properties for that purpose sounds like a no-brainer.

pootin bought enough of Trash stuff to have Trash eating out Pootin's underwear for years.

[Winehole23]

5-6 years ago. going to trump properties for that purpose sounds like a no-brainer.in this case, Goldman execs bribed politicians and police to look the other way.

ye olde fashioned grafte.

[boutons_deux]

BigFinance is probably, quietly cheering the caper, like they cheered Fabulous Fabrice for selling Paulson's shit, except they weren't clever enough to avoid getting caught.

Goldman Sacks did pocket huge fees, will they have to give it back?

The old Repug Trickie Dick Nixon ethics, quote: "It's not what you do. It's what you get caught doing"

[ElNono]

let's see the slap in the wrist for the execs involved...

[Winehole23]

http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2018/11/2/1mdb-is-a-nutty-story-heres-why.html


let's see the slap in the wrist for the execs involved...yep.


Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, who are running the probe, likely have a broader view. Leissner's admission of bribery and laundering conspiracy came in a document called a criminal information, which often suggests a cooperation deal with the authorities.https://www.straitstimes.com/world/mystery-goldman-exec-at-1mdb-meeting-signals-new-woes-for-bank

[Winehole23]

Trump finance chairman for the 2016 campaign and the inauguration, Elliott Broidy, lobbied the Trump administration to cease investigation into the 1MDB swindle and allegedly was involved in a scheme to receive laundered money from Malaysia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/us/politics/broidy-trump-foreign-money.html#click=https://t.co/IVckZgkhSn

[Winehole23]

Broidy was also involved in the payoff to Shera Bechard in one of Michael Cohen's NDAs.

[Winehole23]

(The NDA was not connected to Trump as far as we know)

[Winehole23]

Malaysia lays charges against Goldman Sachs:


Goldman gets 15 percent of its revenue from Southeast Asia, which could be at risk if the scandal hurts Goldman's reputation, according to a report from UBS analyst Brennan Hawken.


Analysts have said the bank is likely to boost its legal reserves by as much as $1 billion.

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/12/18/goldman-sachs-fires-back-after-malaysia-charges-bank-in-1mdb-probe/#4eVsARLwLefC1oDx.99

[Will Hunting]

They’ll cut a deal, pay a fine and be done with it. They always do.

Might be a good time buy Goldman stock the way it’s been tanking.

[boutons_deux]

Singapore declares lifetime ban for ex-Goldman Sachs (aka Vampire Squid) Asia chief Tim Leissner (http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2018/12/19/singapore-declares-lifetime-ban-for-ex-goldman-sachs-asia-ch.html)

http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2018/12/19/singapore-declares-lifetime-ban-for-ex-goldman-sachs-asia-ch.html

... as if scammer/thief multi-millionaire Leissner gives a fuck

[Winehole23]

Goldman stocks down 35% YoY. The hits will keep coming for awhile.


For all that, the scandal is still not well understood. 1MDB was a twist on third-world kleptocracy, one that exposed a new flaw in the global financial system.

Dictators have always plundered national riches. But they could only steal assets that existed. For instance, in former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mobutu Sese Seko shifted profits (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/mobutu-takes-the-money-and-runs-to-a-safe-haven-1261945.html)of mineral sales to private accounts. In the Philippines, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos swiped proceeds (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/10bn-dollar-question-marcos-millions-nick-davies) of sales of sugar, tobacco, bananas, coconuts and everything else they could get their hands on. Saddam Hussein stole oil (http://nypost.com/2003/12/05/billions-in-blood-saddams-stolen-oil-cash-pays-thugs-ex-aide/) revenues.


Malaysia is rich in copper, timber and oil. But Najib and his cohorts didn’t have to steal any of those resources.


“He didn’t steal diamonds or bananas. He stole debt,” says Pang. “This is something completely new. And he couldn’t have done it without a bank the size of Goldman.https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/1mdb_malaysia-goldman-sachs-criminal-charges-772795/

[Winehole23]

all it takes is a corrupt official and a morally flexible bank office to generate billions in public losses.

[Winehole23]

Goldman has survived many scandals in recent years. The bank paid $550 million to settle the infamous “Abacus” affair (https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-123.htm), in which Goldman helped hedge fund investors create a born-to-lose mortgage investment product to bet against.


Then they agreed to pay another $5 billion to settle claims (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/goldman-sachs-agrees-pay-more-5-billion-connection-its-sale-residential-mortgage-backed) of improper “packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities” between 2005 and 2007.

[Will Hunting]

Goldman has handled this situation so poorly that it might turn into a bigger deal than RMBS did.

[Millennial_Messiah]

What are the jews doing in fuckin' Malaysia??

[boutons_deux]

Blankfein Says He’s Just Doing ‘God’s Work’
https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/goldman-chief-says-he-is-just-doing-gods-work/

[Winehole23]

What are the jews doing in fuckin' Malaysia??You should take a long walk through the anarcho-capitalist utopia known as Somalia; it's a pity you're still breathing the free air.

[Millennial_Messiah]

You should take a long walk through the anarcho-capitalist utopia known as Somalia; it's a pity you're still breathing the free air.

Somalia has too many Islamic jihadis.


Libertalia isn't too far away, though it's a city of ruins these days it still carries the pirate anarcho-capitalistic legacy. It's a tough little island to find, though

[Winehole23]

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley want a mulligan after $41 Billion flash crash Thursday, ask counterparties to cancel trades:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-25/goldman-morgan-stanley-are-said-to-ask-to-cancel-jardine-trades

[boutons_deux]

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley want a mulligan after $41 Billion flash crash Thursday, ask counterparties to cancel trades:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-25/goldman-morgan-stanley-are-said-to-ask-to-cancel-jardine-trades

... when they get screwed, but NEVER give mulligan when they are doing the screwing.

[Winehole23]

Trump finance chairman for the 2016 campaign and the inauguration, Elliott Broidy, lobbied the Trump administration to cease investigation into the 1MDB swindle and allegedly was involved in a scheme to receive laundered money from Malaysia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/us/politics/broidy-trump-foreign-money.html#click=https://t.co/IVckZgkhSn...and sure enough, it looks like Jho Low may have donated $100,000 to the Trump Victory committee.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/doj-probes-whether-fugitive-financier-supplied-donation-to-trump-re-election-committee-11552482187

[Winehole23]

USAG Bob Barr is involved in the US settlement with Goldman Sachs.


The Bloomberg report, citing anonymous sources familiar with the negotiations, said the settlement has yet to be finalized but could be announced as early as next year.
It also claimed US Attorney General William Barr has “directly immersed himself in the case” after obtaining an ethics waiver from the White House allowing him to participate in and oversee the investigation.
The waiver was required because Barr’s former law firm, Kirkland and Ellis LLP, is currently representing Goldman in the case.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/12/article/how-goldman-sachs-could-wiggle-free-of-1mdb/

[Winehole23]

they were crooks, in other words


Goldman Sachs Group (https://researchcenter.pionline.com/rankings/money-manager/profiles/34570/overview) agreed to a $79.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Fulton County Employees' Retirement System, Atlanta, in connection with the major bribery scheme involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
The $1 billion pension fund originally filed the shareholder derivative lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York in February 2019, alleging that the bank's "destructive business culture, which … prioritized the consummation of deals ahead of the proper operation of its compliance functions," according to the original filing.

According to the plaintiff's May 13 memorandum supporting preliminary approval of the settlement, the funds will be used entirely for Goldman Sachs' compliance purposes and the implementation of corporate governance measures "to strengthen the company's internal controls and prevent future wrongdoing at the company," according to the filing.

Goldman Sachs in October 2020 had agreed to pay $2.9 billion to settle U.S. criminal and civil penalties for the bribery scheme with 1MDB. According to an SEC order at the time, beginning in 2012, former senior employees of Goldman Sachs used a third-party intermediary to bribe high-ranking government officials in Malaysia and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Those bribes enabled Goldman Sachs to obtain lucrative business from 1MDB, a Malaysian government-owned investment fund, including underwriting about $6.5 billion in bond offerings that earned Goldman Sachs more than $600 million in fees.

The court still has to approve the settlement.
https://www.pionline.com/courts/goldman-sachs-agrees-795-million-settlement-1mdb-lawsuit

[diego]

what a joke, not only no one goes to jail, thats not even 15% of what they got just from fees, less than 3 percent overall .. doesnt even qualify as a slap on the wrist

the rich have a licence to steal

[Winehole23]

Weird sidebar: Pras Michel of the Fugees convicted of "conspiracy, acting as an agent of a foreign government, witness tampering and falsifying campaign finance records."


Prosecutors said Michel agreed to funnel about $2 million from Low into Obama's 2012 re-election campaign in exchange for receiving millions of dollars. Because federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to U.S. campaigns, prosecutors said Michel masked the source of the funds.

Michel was also accused of seeking to convince the Trump-era Justice Department to drop civil and criminal investigations into Low over the 1MDB scandal and trying to lobby the U.S. government on behalf of China to send Chinese billionaire and dissident Guo Wengui back to China.

On the witness stand, Michel said the $20 million Low paid him over the course of nine months in 2012 was to help Low secure a photo with Obama. Michel acknowledged that he used some of the money to pay for three of his friends to attend two political fundraisers for Obama's 2012 campaign, but denied doing so at Low's direction.

"Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money," Michel told the jury, describing the payment as "free money."

On whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, Michel told jurors that his attorney George Higgenbotham never told him it was required by law. Michel also said he passed along information to the FBI about China's desire to have Guo extradited amid concerns by China that Guo was "allegedly a criminal rapist," saying he "thought it was something the FBI should know."

Higgenbotham, who has since pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme, told jurors (https://www.reuters.com/legal/ex-doj-lawyer-tells-jury-he-met-with-chinese-further-illegal-lobbying-campaign-2023-04-06/) that he met with the Chinese ambassador in Washington at Michel's insistence to assure the Chinese that the Trump administration was working toward extraditing Guo.

Guo, who was never extradited, has since been indicted (https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-charges-exiled-chinese-businessman-guo-wengui-with-fraud-2023-03-15/) on unrelated fraud charges in New York.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/fugees-rapper-convicted-us-over-lobbying-campaigns-with-malaysian-financier-2023-04-26/