The US has charged two former Goldman Sachs bankers and a fugitive Malaysian financier in connection with one of the world’s biggest financial scandals.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) accused the men of participating in a scheme that stole billions of dollars from Malaysia’s economic development fund, 1MDB.
The alleged embezzlement, which authorities say was used to buy Van Gogh paintings and finance Hollywood films, has already contributed to the downfall of the Malaysian prime minister.
The indictment charges Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, who is also known as Jho Low, with misappropriating money from the state-owned fund and using it for bribes and kickbacks to foreign officials.
Some of the funds were also laundered through luxury real estate purchases, art and jewelry in the US as well as through funding movies, including "The Wolf of Wall Street" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the DoJ said.
Prosecutors also charged former Goldman Sachs banker, Tim Leissner, 48, who pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and to conspiring to violating foreign bribery laws.
A former director at the bank, Ng Chong Hwa, 51, also known as Roger Ng, was arrested on Thursday in Malaysia and accused of circumventing internal accounting controls, prosecutors said.
In 2016, the DoJ moved to recover more than $1 billion that it said had been stolen, filing a civil complaint that sought the forfeiture of property including a Manhattan penthouse, a Beverly Hills mansion, a luxury jet and paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
The money was supposed to support development projects, but prosecutors said the trio "conspired to launder" more than $2.7bn through the US financial system, and used this money to pay bribes and "for the personal benefit of themselves and their relatives".
Thursday’s charges are the first arising from a global financial scandal which has sparked investigations in at least six countries and contributed to the fall of the last Malaysian government in May.
The former prime minister, Najib Razak, is facing multiple charges of money-laundering and criminal breach of trust over the handling of the state-run 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, which he created. If convicted, he could be jailed for decades.
His wife, Rosmah Mansor, has also been charged with money laundering. Both deny any wrongdoing.
The corruption allegations triggered an electoral earthquake that toppled Mr Najib’s long-ruling coalition and ushered in a reformist alliance headed by his former mentor Mahathir Mohamad, 93.
A family friend of Mr Najib, Mr Low had no official role at 1MDB but had considerable influence over its dealings and was often in contact with Mr Najib, according to US authorities.
Mr Low has previously denied charges filed in Malaysia, adding that it would be "impossible" for him to receive a fair trial there.
The Telegraph has contacted lawyers for Mr Low, who has been at large since July, and Mr Leissner but has not yet received a response. It is unclear if Mr Ng has a lawyer.
A spokesman for Goldman Sachs, which the indictment says earned about $600 million in fees and revenues and underwrote more than $6 billion in bonds issued by 1MDB, said: “The firm continues to cooperate with all authorities investigating this matter.”
The charges came as Malaysia’s anti-corruption body announced it is hunting for a British public relations consultant Paul Stadlen in connection to the financial scandal.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Thursday appealed for the public’s help in locating the 39-year-old, who acted as a spokesman for Mr Najib.
The MACC suggested that Mr Stadlen could be a key witness in the high-profile case, the Malay Mail reported.
The MACC did not respond to questions from The Telegraph, and Mr Stadlen could not be reached.