All four 1MDB-related charges against ex-banker Roger Ng to be tried together

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): All four charges against former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng will be tried together before High Court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin, a prosecutor said. 

This follows the transfer of two charges previously heard by Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan to Justice Jamil’s court today. The other two charges were already assigned to Justice Jamil. 

Securities Commission Malaysia deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Izzat Fauzan, who told theedgemarkets.com this, said no dates have been fixed yet for the next proceedings. 

Ng, 47, had claimed trial to the four charges of abetting Goldman Sachs in the sale of notes and bonds belonging to 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) subsidiaries by omitting material information and publishing untrue statements.

He is charged under Section 370(c) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, which carries a punishment of up to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of at least RM1 million, upon conviction.

Among material facts allegedly omitted in these bonds issuances was the fact that purported master conspirator Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, was the principal controller and intermediary of 1MDB.  

Ng is alleged to be one of the bankers from Goldman Sachs, apart from his former boss Tim Leissner, who helped former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and others embezzle at least US$2.7 billion from 1MDB. 

Ng is also facing charges in the US for his role in the 1MDB scandal. In May 2019, he pleaded not guilty at a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. The US Department of Justice accused Ng of conspiring to launder money and bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi through bond offerings that Goldman Sachs handled.

He was extradited to New York from Kuala Lumpur where he was in custody. Ng initially fought against the extradition in a Malaysian court but later changed his mind and volunteered to go. However, Malaysian investigators objected, as Ng was already charged here for similar 1MDB offences.

But an agreement was finally worked out between the two authorities. 

On Sept 4 last year, the Malaysian government dropped its charges against Goldman Sachs after it agreed to a settlement of almost US$4 billion, but the charges against Ng stand.

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