A Web of Financial Intrigue
The 1MDB scandal has ensnared some of the world’s biggest financial players. U.S. prosecutors accused bankers, executives, and global intermediaries of orchestrating a vast conspiracy to loot more than $4.5 billion from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.
Goldman Sachs has faced its own reckoning. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed charges against two former Goldman managing directors for their role in underwriting more than $6 billion in 1MDB bonds. The deals earned Goldman roughly $600 million in fees while helping funnel illicit funds across the globe.
In 2023, Roger Ng, another Goldman executive, was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his conviction at trial. His former colleague, Tim Leissner, once a star witness for the prosecution, received a two-year prison term earlier in 2024 after admitting to helping funnel more than $2.7 billion in bribes and kickbacks.
Closing a Dark Chapter
For Malaysia, the JPMorgan $330M agreement adds to billions already clawed back through settlements with banks, executives, and intermediaries implicated in the scheme. For JPMorgan, it represents closure of a case that cast a long shadow over its reputation, though without admitting wrongdoing.
While Friday’s announcements may not erase the scars of the 1MDB debacle, they mark a turning point in one of the most sprawling financial scandals in modern history—where the world’s biggest banks became unwitting, and at times complicit, players in a multibillion-dollar heist.
