Ex-Goldman banker loses appeal of conviction in 1MDB embezzlement scheme

MANHATTAN (CN) — A federal appeals court on Friday tossed a longshot attempt from former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, also known as Ng Chong Hwa, to toss a federal conviction over his involvement in one of the largest financial scandals of all time.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Ng’s claim that his 2022 trial was rife with legal errors, writing in a 50-page ruling that “we find none of his contentions persuasive.”

In doing so, the three-judge panel affirmed the conviction and 10-year prison sentence for Ng’s role in Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Prosecutors say Ng made $35.1 million off corrupt bond deals in the massive scheme, which resulted in criminal investigations around the world.

On appeal, Ng honed in on a 2018 recorded video call that he said was unfairly excluded by the trial’s judge, U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie out of the Eastern District of New York. Ng argued that the call, between his wife Hwee Bin Lim and former boss Tim Leissner, established that the $35 million payment was actually a return on a prior investment by his wife — not kickbacks from the 1MDB scheme.

Brodie, a Barack Obama appointee, dismissed the recording as hearsay at the trial.

“We see no error in the district court’s application of the relevant hearsay principles,” U.S. Circuit Judge Amalya Kearse, a Jimmy Carter appointee, wrote for the panel. “To begin with, we reject Ng’s contentions that in the October 2018 call Lim merely asked questions, and that the questions are admissible as nonhearsay because they are not offered for the truth of the matter asserted.”

“The transcript itself shows that almost none of what Lim said in that conversation — including her references to a past family investment — was a question,” Kearse added.

Ng also claimed the government violated its extradition agreement by bringing down superseding indictments despite convincing him to waive extradition in exchange for only trying him on offenses outlined in the initial indictment. He argued that the venue was improper, claiming none of the essential criminal elements in the case happened in Brooklyn.

“We have considered all of Ng’s arguments on this appeal and have found them to be without merit,” Kearse wrote, shooting down the efforts.

A lawyer for Ng didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Joining Kearse in her ruling was U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan, a Donald Trump appointee, and U.S. Circuit Judge Beth Robinson, a Joe Biden appointee. The same panel presided over oral arguments last October, when the government argued that Lim was lying on the call.

“Ms. Lim knows that somebody is listening so she’s sticking with the cover story that they’ve come up with,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alixandra Smith insisted last fall.

A federal jury in 2022 took 16 hours to convict Ng for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through bribery and circumventing accounting controls, as well as conspiring to launder money from the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scheme. He was the only banker to face trial for his involvement.

The heist is widely considered one of the biggest financial crimes in human history. Purportedly masterminded by fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, prosecutors say Ng and Leissner received tens of millions of dollars in bribes after Low paid off foreign officials for bond deals secured by Goldman.

At trial, prosecutors acknowledged how the scheme deprived Malaysia of funding for necessary infrastructure, like improved roads and energy systems. Instead, some of the siphoned cash was used to buy luxury real estate in Manhattan and Beverly Hills, paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, a Marlon Brando Oscar and a $250 million yacht.

The 2013 hit film “The Wolf of Wall Street” was also partially funded by money stolen from the fund; Low was thanked personally in the film’s credits.

Follow @Uebey Follow @uebey.bsky.social