FORMER Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner admitted that he “lied a lot” in his life, during cross-examination yesterday in the trial of Roger Ng, who stands accused of taking millions in kickbacks to facilitate the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, reported The Edge Markets.

The prosecution’s star witness in Federal Court, New York, was Ng’s supervisor at the bank. The former has already admitted several crimes and is awaiting sentencing.

The defence’s case hinges on proving that Leissner, 52, was in fact the architect of the money laundering and bribery for which Ng is on trial.

Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo set about undermining Leissner’s credibility, probing his relationships with a number of women, his bigamy and the lengths to which he would go to seduce women.

“I have lied a lot sir, and I have regretted those choices,” Leissner said.

The bank’s former head of Southeast Asia said he oversaw Ng – as head of Malaysia – and provided him with US$35 million (RM147 million) in bribes.

Ng is accused of breaking US money laundering and anti-bribery laws in connection with one of the world’s largest financial scandals.

Of the US$6.5 billion in bonds raised by Goldman between 2009 and 2014, prosecutors allege nearly two-thirds was siphoned off. Meanwhile, the bank charged 1MDB US$600 million for the service. – March 2, 2022.