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February 14, 2016- The Post reports, “Tim Leissner, the Singapore-based chairman of Goldman’s Southeast Asia operations, who has left that country and relocated to Los Angeles on a leave of absence from the firm, is reportedly being investigated by the FBI in concert with wider probes of money-laundering allegations spanning five countries.
A state fund — 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) — was set up with Leissner’s assistance, and Goldman was paid sky-high commissions for bond sales. Then $681 million tied to the fund mysteriously turned up in the bank account of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
These probes could force Goldman to face the wrath of a congressional inquiry, according to one legal expert.
Leissner, 45, who is married to Kimora Lee Simmons, the former wife of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, lives a jet-setting lifestyle. Kimora Lee, a businesswoman, designer and former model, last year opened a fashion boutique on tony Beverly Drive in Los Angeles. She also has important connections. Kimora Lee is reportedly friendly with Razak’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.
Some of the fund’s transactions illustrate the cozy relationship between Goldman and the government.
The sum of three bond sales for 1MDB back in 2012 and 2013, totaling as much as $6.5 billion, reportedly yielded fees, commissions and expenses for Goldman of almost $593 million, the equivalent of 9.1 percent of the money raised. The typical cut for an investment bank is about 5 percent.”