Goldman Accuses 1MDB Banker of ‘Serial Lies’ Ahead of Sentencing

Tim Leissner, center, departs federal court in Brooklyn, New York, in 2022.

Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the banker at the heart of a scandal linked to Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund engaged in “serial lies” and deception about the fraud, days before he is scheduled to be sentenced.

In a letter to a US judge, Goldman said that Tim Leissner, the bank’s former southeast Asia chairman, has never taken responsibility for his actions in the multibillion-dollar fraud that brought down the Malaysian government. The letter comes after the US government asked for leniency when Leissner is sentenced next week.