Goldman Sachs to pay S’pore Govt $165m for role in 1MDB scandal
Goldman Sachs Singapore will pay US$122 million (S$165 million) to the Singapore Government for its role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) bond offerings corruption scandal. The penalty is believed to be the largest imposed on a financial institution here, and will be paid by Goldman's local unit to the Singapore Government's Consolidated Fund. The Singapore payment is part of the nearly US$3 billion that parent Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay to the United States authorities after its Malaysia unit said it would plead guilty to violating foreign bribery laws. Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) has also served Goldman Sachs Singapore with a 36-month conditional warning, in lieu of prosecution, for three counts of corruption offences punishable under Section 5(b)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241. Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has directed the Singapore unit of Goldman Sachs to appoint an independent external party to conduct a review of its remedial measures, it said in a joint statement with the Attorney-General's Chambers and CAD yesterday. The MAS, in a separate statement, said that it has issued a lifetime ban on Mr...
Understanding Goldman Sachs’ role in the 1MDB mega scandal
KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) - Goldman Sachs on Thursday (Oct 22) reached a deal to settle a probe into the bank's role in Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal, which included total penalties of nearly US$3 billion (S$4 billion). The bank was investigated for its role in raising US$6.5 billion in three bond sales between 2012 and 2013 for the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund. What is 1MDB? 1MDB is a state fund launched in 2009 by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak to promote economic development. How did billions go missing? 1MDB raised billions of dollars in bonds, ostensibly for investment projects and joint ventures between 2009 and 2013. Malaysian and US authorities say US$4.5 billion, including some of the money Goldman helped raise, was stolen from 1MDB in an elaborate scheme that spanned the globe and implicated high-level officials of the fund, Najib and others. The siphoned funds were used to buy luxury assets and real estate, including hotels, a private jet, art by Picasso and Monet, and to finance Hollywood films, US lawsuits said. The US Department of Justice has sought to recover about US$2.1 billion in assets linked to diverted 1MDB funds - the largest ...