New York Post apologises for fake news on 1MDB
New York Post apologises to Kimora Lee Simmons and yanks article saying her fashion line is at the centre of a corruption probe.
(FMT) – The New York Post’s Page Six has officially apologised to businesswoman Kimora Lee Simmons and yanked an article from their site that said her fashion line was linked to a corruption probe in Malaysia.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the article in question was headlined: “Kimora Lee Simmons’ fashion line at centre of corruption probe”. The piece was written by Richard Johnson and published on May 24.
However on June 7, an editor’s note posted on the site said: “Ms Simmons has since advised us that several statements were not true, specifically: her fashion line is self-funded; her company is profitable; her company sells its products in multiple department stores; and neither she nor her company are related in any way to a ‘corruption probe’ in Malaysia.
“We apologise to Ms Simmons for any error,” the statement read in conclusion.
In the article by Johnson, it was alleged that Kimora’s husband, former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, had financed the brand’s launch.
Leissner handled transactions for 1MDB, now under probe by law enforcement agencies in various countries.
The report said Goldman Sachs was paid exorbitant fees for selling 1MDB bonds, and that prosecutors would likely seek to claw back the commissions.
When speaking to the Los Angeles Times about the offending article, Kimora said: “I’ve been around for quite some time. I’m an old lady so I’ve always been self-sustaining, self-funded.”
She added: “I fund my own business.… I’ve been in the fashion industry since [age] 12, modelling and all that. So all my money, not that I want to say it that way, this is my third marriage that I’m on so, no, my husband has nothing to do with my professional life.”
The New York Post report comes on the heels of a Bloomberg report on April 28 that US prosecutors investigating Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s role in raising almost US$6 billion (RM25.6 billion) for Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund are asking questions about money flowing through accounts linked to Leissner.
It said they were interviewing bankers familiar with 1MDB about Leissner’s network of relationships, especially with politically-connected Malaysians.
