When last we checked in on the 1MDB saga, Goldman was busy tying up a few loose ends.
Tim Leissner, the banker who built the firm’s Southeast Asia operation from the ground up and the man behind a series of questionable deals that funded what would eventually become Malaysian PM Najib Razak’s personal slush fund, was essentially forced out in January, after bank investigators uncovered what they said was an unauthorized reference letter.
Apparently, Leissner tried to secure an internship for the son of a possibly shady businessman tied to an Indonesian copper mine. The story is absurd on all kinds of levels, but rather than recount the entire thing for the umpteenth time, we’ll simply give you the Cliff’s Notes version courtesy of Bloomberg:
Last year he was in talks to provide financing for a group of investors, including Sudjiono Timan, who were seeking to buy a controlling interest in Newmont Mining Corp.’s copper operations in Indonesia, according to two people familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Timan, whose ties to the Newmont deal haven’t been previously reported, was convicted on corruption charges in 2004. Even though Indonesia’s Supreme Court reversed the conviction in 2013, before the Newmont deal took shape, Goldman Sachs told Leissner it wouldn’t move forward on the transaction as long as Timan was a sponsor, the people said. Timan withdrew as an investor but acted as an adviser to the remaining sponsors, according to the people. When the New York-based bank learned of Timan’s continuing involvement, it decided not to proceed, they said.
The deal committee reviewing the transaction opted against it, one of the people said, in part because the bank didn’t think Leissner provided enough information about Timan’s involvement. When Goldman examined Leissner’s messages after pulling out of the Newmont deal, it discovered he had used the firm’s letterhead to write a reference letter in violation of company rules, according to the person.
Frankly, that story is the worst kind of nonsense. Only a complete simpleton would believe that a man who at one time was one of the bank’s most revered and powerful executives (at least as it relates to the Squid’s overseas ops) was fired because he used the firm’s letterhead on a reference letter. Furthermore, the idea that Goldman Sachs is allergic to deals that have ties to corrupt individuals is laughable.
The real reason Leissner was let go is simple: he effectively helped to create 1MDB, which is now at the center of a global corruption probe being conducted by more regulators and investigatory bodies than you can count on both hands. Goldman wants nothing to do with it, or as little to do with it as possible, and that means getting rid of the man who started it all by floating two bond deals that financed what was supposed to be a development bank, but which turned into a checking account for Malaysia’s prime minister.
Anyway, it’s not just Goldman that’s involved. On Friday we learn that the DoJ has now asked Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to explain their own dealings with 1MDB. “JPMorgan and Deutsche were not the target of the investigations at this stage, but had only been asked to provide details,” Reuters writes, before adding that “Singapore’s central bank has also asked financial institutions to provide details of any transactions linked to the Malaysian fund.”
“As part of its investigations into possible money-laundering and other offences in Singapore, (MAS) has been conducting a thorough review of various transactions as well as fund flows through our banking system,” the country’s monetary authority said in a statement. “MAS has requested a number of financial institutions to furnish information relating to the review.” Meanwhile, Luxembourg’s state prosecutor is also investigating 1MDB and you’ll never guess who’s under the microscope (ok, maybe you will):
- EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD BANK SAYS IT’S COOPERATING WITH LUXEMBOURG 1MDB PROBE
Here’s a bit more from from Bloomberg on Deutsche and JPMorgan:
One bank received an instruction from the Justice Department not to destroy related documents dating back to 2009, the year 1MDB was created, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.
Deutsche Bank Malaysia and JPMorgan’s involvement with 1MDB can be traced back to 2009 when they facilitated fund transfers for the company, according to the person familiar with the matter. Deutsche was also hired as one of the advisers for an initial public offering of 1MDB’s power assets in mid-2014, which never materialized because of an unfavorable market. It also gave a $975 million loan to the company two years ago and 1MDB settled it in 2015.
Authorities from around the world — including in the U.S., Luxembourg, Switzerland and Singapore — are trying to piece together evidence to determine if some of the billions of dollars that 1MDB raised since 2009 were siphoned out of its coffers and into the personal accounts of politically connected individuals.
Allow us to save “authorities from around the world” some time: yes, “some of the billions” were indeed “siphoned” out of the fund and “into the personal accounts of politically connected individuals.” Politically connected individuals like Najib himself who, along with his controversial wife Rosmah Mansor (who is friends with Leissner’s spouse Kimora Lee), spend lavishly on all manner of luxury goods (if you ask him, Najib will tell you the $681 million that ended up in his bank account didn’t come from 1MDB but was in fact a “donation” from some very generous Arabs).
Najib and Mansour, for instance, spent $130,625 on one trip to Chanel while vacationing in Honolulu in 2014.
Two days later, Najib played 18 holes at Kaneohe Klipper with President Obama. That, according to WSJ, is a true story.
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