Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner banned from working in Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a lifetime Prohibition Order (PO) against former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner following the charges brought against him by the US Department of Justice (US DOJ) over his role in the 1MDB scandal.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement that the measure was taken after Tim Leissner pleaded guilty in November to charges pressed by the US department of justice related to violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practice Act and money laundering.
"The US DOJ's charges and Mr Leissner's guilty plea have provided further evidence of Mr Leissner's involvement in funds flows related to 1MDB," said the agency, referring to the international corruption scandal in Malaysia's state owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Singapore had initially issued a 10-year prohibition order against Leissner on Mar. 13, 2017, which banned him from participating in any activities coming under the purview of its securities law and capital market services.
Earlier this week, Malaysian prosecutors demanded a 10-year prison sentence for Leissner while pressing criminal charges against him, his Goldman Sachs colleague Roger Ng Chong Nwa as well as Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and Low Taek Jho - popularly known as Jho Low - two key figures in the now-defunct 1MDB.
The lifetime ban, which also extends the scope of the original prohibition order, will prevent Leissner from performing any regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Act and from managing any capital markets services firm in Singapore, said the MAS.
He is also forbidden from acting as a director, or becoming a substantial shareholder or a capital market services licensee under the Act.
Leissner was charged in the US on Nov 1, and pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to obtain and retain business from 1MDB for Goldman Sachs by promising to pay bribes and kickbacks to government officials in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia.
He had also embezzled funds from 1MDB for himself and laundered these bribes, kickbacks and funds through financial systems in the US and elsewhere.
His guilty plea provided more evidence of his involvement in fund flows related to 1MDB, which was previously not available to the MAS when it issued the earlier prohibition order, it said in a statement.
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