1MDB Scandal: Trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng put on hold after US fails to disclose documents
The trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, over his involvement in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, has been put on hold, after it emerged the US Department of Justice (DoJ) had failed to hand over some 15,500 documents.
The decision to pause the trial comes after US prosecutors admitted that a DoJ team had failed to provide them, and Ng’s defence team, with around 15,500 emails from the computer of Ng’s former Goldman Sachs colleague Tim Leissner.
“The government absolutely, absolutely, and admittedly at this point did not live up to its obligations,” Ng’s defence attourney Marc Agnifilo, told US District Judge Margo Brodie, according to Reuters.
The pause will allow Ng’s defence team time to review the documents before they cross-examine Leissneer, who is currently acting as the prosecution’s star witness.
The trial comes as Ng faces charges of money laundering and bribery, over allegations Ng received $35m for his role in the 1MDB scandal, after Goldman Sachs helped the Malaysian government-backed fund raise $6.5bn through three fraudulent bond deals.
Ng faces 30 years imprisonment if found guilty of the charges. The former Goldman Sachs banker denies the allegations. His defence team have claimed the $35m that Ng allegedly received through fraud is actually money gained from a separate venture involving Ng’s wife and Leissner’s ex-wife.
The disclosure comes after Leissner told the Brooklyn Court that Ng had first introduced him to international fugitive Jho Low – the Chinese-Malaysian business accused of masterminding the 1MDB scandal – in 2008.
Leissner told the court that Low later laid out his plans to bribe officials and embezzle the Malaysian government during a meeting at Low’s London flat in 2012.