Goldman Sachs helped raise billions for 1MDB — and paid $2.9B for its role in the fraud

1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was a Malaysian state investment fund set up in 2009 under then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Over the following years, more than $4.5 billion was siphoned out of it, according to the US Department of Justice — the largest kleptocracy case it had ever pursued. Central to moving the money were bond deals arranged by Goldman Sachs, whose bankers helped 1MDB raise about $6.5 billion in 2012 and 2013.

Goldman collected roughly $600 million in fees for the deals — an extraordinary sum. But much of the money raised was diverted, through shell companies and offshore accounts orchestrated by the fugitive financier Jho Low, into the pockets of officials and their associates, including hundreds of millions that flowed to Najib himself. Goldman's own bankers, notably Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, were later accused of knowing about and facilitating the scheme while assuring the bank's compliance systems that all was well.

When the scandal broke, it triggered investigations worldwide. Leissner pleaded guilty in the US to money-laundering and bribery charges and forfeited $43.7 million; Roger Ng was convicted and imprisoned. Malaysia charged Goldman's subsidiaries and sought billions in fines. In 2020, Goldman agreed to pay roughly $2.9 billion to settle the investigations — the largest penalty ever under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The scandal helped bring down Najib's government and remains a byword for how a global bank can be used to launder stolen public money.