Goldman Sachs played a “central role” in a $6 billion international bribery and corruption scandal that was masterminded by party-boy financier Jho Low, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by an Abu Dhabi investor.
The Wall Street bank “conspired” with others to bribe officials in Abu Dhabi and at other investment funds to help back the Malaysian fund known as 1MDB, according to the suit from the International Petroleum Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi investment fund.
About half of the $6 billion that Goldman raised in financing for 1MDB paid for bribes and the extravagant lifestyle of Low, including lavish parties and luxury real estate, and helped back the Hollywood production company behind “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
“We are in the process of assessing the details of allegations and fully expect to contest the claim vigorously,” Michael DuVally, a Goldman spokesman, said in a statement.
“IPIC will take any and all legal action necessary, now and in the future, to protect its business interests against the financial exposure and damages it has suffered as a result of this international conspiracy,” Michael Carlinsky, head of complex litigation for IPIC co-legal counsel Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, said in a statement. “We will also defend and protect the 2017 settlement concluded with and authorized by 1MDB and the government of Malaysia.”
Also named in the suit was Tim Leissner, former chair of the bank’s Southeast Asian business, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to bribery and corruption charges.
In a statement at a court hearing, Leissner said he and other Goldman employees had “conspired” to bribe Low in order to win the business, and that his actions were “very much in line” with the culture at the bank.
The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, is the latest accusation that Goldman Sachs was central to the bribery scandal around 1MDB.
Earlier this month, Malaysia’s finance minister demanded a “full refund” of the $600 million that Goldman had taken in fees for raising the funds and claimed that the bank had “indirectly” admitted guilt when Leissner pleaded guilty.
