Sex, Bribes & Blackmail – Najib’s Appeal In Jeopardy After Leissner Exposed More Dirty Deals In 1MDB Scandal
Even though the trial in a Brooklyn federal court was supposed to focus on Goldman’s role in the international scandal, Leissner’s testimony has done more damage than Malaysian former premier Najib had wanted at this critical time.
(Finance Twitter) – Najib Razak, the disgraced former prime minister of Malaysia, is appealing his corruption convictions after being sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million. The High Court delivered the guilty verdict in July 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust (CBT), and money laundering – all involving RM42 million stolen from SRC International Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of 1MDB).
His appeal failed in December 2021 after the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision. Not only all the 3 judges had thrown out Najib’s appeal, they also used harsh language, calling the ex-PM’s corruption a “national embarrassment”. Najib now has only one final shot at the Federal Court, the highest court and the final appellate court in the country.
But Mr Najib has since lost much of his earlier confidence. Shafee Abdullah, his leading attorney whom he proudly introduced to journalists as “hotshot lawyer” in 2018, has been dropped. The world’s biggest crook wants to appoint Queen’s Counsel (QC) from the United Kingdom to appeal in his final appeal. His appeal, however, could be jeopardised following the trial of Tim Leissner.
Leissner, the former chief of Goldman Sachs’ Southeast Asia operation, has exposed more dirty backroom and bedroom deals – sex, bribes and blackmail – during his testimony in a U.S. federal court in the ongoing 1MDB trial of Roger Ng, Goldman’s Malaysian head of investment banking. Mr Ng had received RM35 million in kickbacks to take part in the money laundering scheme.
