The BSI account belonged to a British Virgin Islands entity known as
Aabar Investments PJS Ltd., which US court documents say was used to
siphon off about US$1.4 billion from two 2012 bond sales, including the
offering discussed at the lunch.
The man who led BSI bank into the abyss
Mr Leissner, Goldman's former chairman of South-east Asia and lead
banker for three 1MDB bond sales, is now barred from the world of
finance in Singapore and the US.
Prosecutors in Malaysia and Singapore are turning their attention to
Mr Ng, Mr Leissner's junior, who introduced several parties central to
the scandal, the people said. Malaysian authorities are said to be
preparing a warrant for Mr Ng's arrest, people familiar with the matter
said earlier this month.
Mr Ng couldn't be reached for comment. A lawyer for Mr Leissner, Mr
Marc Harris, declined to comment, as did Mr Edward Naylor, a Hong
Kong-based spokesman for Goldman Sachs, and an official at EFG
International AG, which acquired BSI in 2016. A representative for Mr
Low did not reply to emails.
Recouping fees
The 1MDB investigation has quickened since Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad returned to power in May. Tun Dr Mahathir has called
former premier Najib Razak, who set up the fund in 2009, a thief and
made resolving the case one of his priorities. Several arrest warrants -
including one for Mr Low, described by prosecutors as a key figure in
the plot - have already been issued.
Dr Mahathir said in a June 22 Bloomberg Television interview that
Malaysia is also seeking to recoup some of the almost US$600 million in
fees Goldman made from the three deals, which were arranged by the
bank's London-based unit.
"What we earned from the debt transactions reflected the risks we
assumed at the time, specifically movement in credit spreads tied to the
specific bonds, hedging costs and underlying market conditions," Mr
Naylor, the Goldman spokesman, said last week in response to Dr
Mahathir's comments.
Datuk Seri Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and called the probe "political revenge."
Genteel banker
Mr Ng, a well-connected Malaysian banker, joined Goldman in 2005 from
Deutsche Bank AG, where he won mandates for several bond deals. He
provided an introduction to lawmakers in the state of Terengganu, which
in 2009 hired Goldman to advise it on the creation of the Terengganu
Investment Authority (TIA), the people said.
Mr Ng was promoted to managing director that year. At TIA, which
eventually became 1MDB, Mr Ng crossed paths with Mr Low, a Malaysian
dealmaker and adviser to the fund.
As Goldman won deals from 1MDB, Mr Ng and Mr Leissner forged a
friendship, which extended to their wives, according to the people.
Investigators are now also looking at a transfer shortly after the May
2012 bond sale of US$17.5 million to Mr Ng's wife, Malaysian lawyer Lim
Hwee Bin, from Mr Leissner's former wife Judy Chan, who runs a vineyard
in China, the people said. Ms Lim and Ms Chan did not reply to emails
and phone calls.
Mr Ng is described by those who know him as the antithesis of a Wall
Street investment banker - genteel, valuing personal ties and averse to
asking hard questions. He was content letting his boss champion the 1MDB
deals. Mr Leissner, who arrived late at the 2012 lunch and left early
to catch a flight, made most of the presentation, leaving Mr Ng and Mr
Low to fill in the gaps, according to the people familiar with the
meeting.
While Mr Ng played an important role facilitating the US$1.75 billion
bond deal, dubbed Project Magnolia, he wasn't involved in the two other
bonds Goldman underwrote for 1MDB, the people said. Mr Ng left the bank
in 2014, a few months before the missing 1MDB funds became public.
Now managing director for Asia at energy-drinks company Celsius
Holdings Inc, where Mr Leissner and his current wife Kimora Lee are both
investors, Mr Ng has been barred from travelling by the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission, the people said.
He and his wife live in a gated community in Damansara Heights in
Kuala Lumpur, where houses sell for RM5 million (S$1.7 million) to RM25
million.
Mr Ng joined Boca Raton, Florida-based Celsius in 2016, the same year
Mr Leissner became co-chairman of the board. Mr Leissner resigned in
May 2017, though he remains one of Celsius' largest shareholders. Hong
Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing and Mr Russell Simmons, the former husband
of Mr Leissner's current wife, are also investors.
Ms Megan Bell, a spokesman for Celsius, declined to comment.
BLOOMBERG
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