Tim Leissner, 51, testified against Roger Ng last week. Leissner, a star witness in the federal case in Brooklyn, implicated his former Goldman Sachs subordinate. Ng was charged with multiple counts of conspiring to launder money and violating the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He is pleading not guilty. 

Ng’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo of Brafman & Associates, told jurors that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York could not prove their case.

“This is a massive crime with many guilty people—he’s just not one of them,” Agnifilo claimed.

In the February 14th court appearance, he said that “Tim Leissner uses people.” 

The defense argued that Ng only provided Leissner with the introduction to Malaysian playboy financier Jho Low in 2008. Leissner and Low engineered the elaborate embezzlement plot. And he later raised concerns about Low himself.

And claimed Leissner was only a “mini version of Low.” 

It was alleged ex-banker sought money to “buy private planes, yachts, and homes in Beverly Hills.” And that Ng was set up to take the fall. “Roger’s a small cog in this huge machine that’s Goldman Sachs,” he added.

He insisted Leissner was “married to two different women at the same time...twice.” The attorney also accused Leissner of forgery. And of having sex with Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, the former general counsel for 1MDB. Swan also received a $5 million transfer from the fund.

Leissner and Low divert billions

German-born Leissner was making more than $10 million as the Southeast Asia chairman at Goldman Sachs by 2012. But it may not have been enough for the now-estranged husband of model and Baby Phat designer Kimora Lee Simmons. 

Court documents disclose that between 2012 and October 2014, more than $200 million is alleged to have been transferred from 1MDB to accounts owned and controlled by Leissner and a co-conspirator.

By 2015 the 1MDB Fund had accumulated overwhelming debt. And Goldman Sachs launched an in-house investigation. 

The internal investigation found that Goldman Sachs bankers are alleged to have diverted tens of millions to themselves. The fund held $8 billion to be invested on behalf of the citizens of Malaysia. And around 2 billion dollars was embezzled from the fund. 

Leissner was suspended from the firm. Once arrested, in June 2018, Leissner pleaded guilty to the alleged $4.5 billion heists against the sovereign fund. In the plea deal, he had to forfeit $43.7 million of his ill-gotten gains. And he agreed to testify against Ng and Low.

According to prosecutors, Ng and Leissner allegedly enabled Low to embezzle funds from 1MDB. The scheme required millions in bribes. And in exchange, they received millions in kickbacks.

High-flying lifestyle crashes

Bradley Hope co-authored “Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Walled Street, Hollywood and the World” describes the high-level heist. And Jho Low’s high-flying lifestyle.

This is a story of the excesses of a global elite. The 1MDB wealth fund became the vehicle for the biggest criminal enterprise on the planet. And Jho Low, a young Chinese-Malaysian managed to get control of billions of dollars. 

The playboy entrepreneur paid celebrities like Megan Fox and Leonardo DiCaprio to attend his parties. He flew them in on a private jet. 

“Nobody knew he was doing the things he was doing or the full extent of it,” Hope said, referring specifically to the Jho Low caper.

Hope also talks about Leissner. And says he was not surprised that Leissner pulled it off. “People like Tim know how to control themselves. They are good chameleons.”

 “He married Kimora and needed to present a richer personality. He couldn’t be a banker. He had to be a rich guy with his own yacht,” Hope told The New York Post.

Kimora’s ex-husband is Russell Simmons, millionaire co-founder of Def Jam Records and the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He is suing his ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Leissner, claiming his personal shares in energy drink company Celsius Energy Drink company were “fraudulently” used for Leissner's bail. And his for legal fees. 

Leissner and Kimora, now estranged, deny the charges.

Goldman is reportedly in talks with the Justice Department. There is talk of more charges for violations of the US bribery laws. And they may have to pay over $2 billion. And clear up allegations that at least one of its bankers was aware that Jho Low was involved in the 1MDB bond deals.

Jho Low remains a fugitive.