{"id":208269,"date":"2022-04-06T06:33:30","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T13:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=208269"},"modified":"2022-04-08T10:59:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T17:59:54","slug":"convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/","title":{"rendered":"Goldman Sachs Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive Awaits Verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"

In closing arguments Monday, US prosecutors urged a federal jury in New York to convict former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng <\/a>of money laundering and bribing foreign officials. They accuse the ex-banker of helping international fugitive Jho Low<\/a> steal billions from the Malaysian sovereign investment fund, known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).<\/p>\n

\"1MDB\"
Roger Ng, center, leaving a New York federal courtroom in May 2019. He denies helping rogue financier Jho Low loot the 1MDB fund in return for kickbacks. (Image: Jeenah Moon\/Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prosecutors say Ng convinced the investment bank to sign off on three bond deals totaling US$6.5 billion for the 1MDB fund in return for $35 million in kickbacks. Low, real name Low Taek Jho, is accused of ransacking US$4.5 billion from the fund, which was meant for development and infrastructure projects within Malaysia. He is believed to be hiding out in China.<\/p>\n

Ng denies the charges. The defense team argued he is being scapegoated by his former boss, Tim Leissner. Also implicated, Leissner is testifying for the prosecution and hopes for leniency.<\/p>\n

High Stakes at the Venetian<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But Assistant United States attorney Alixandra Smith reminded the jury Monday that Ng had maintained a personal relationship with Low. The pair traveled to Las Vegas to gamble together, flying from Singapore on Low\u2019s private jet.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the trial, the jury heard from Kirk Godby, a Venetian Las Vegas marketing executive, who testified about Low\u2019s extravagant gambling habits. Godby said the rogue financier was one of the casino\u2019s biggest whales.<\/p>\n

\n

Low wagered $87 million at the Venetian alone, once losing $1.75 million in a 90-minute baccarat session. He would make demands of casino staff that were \u201cparallel to none,\u201d such as that they provide disco balls, dance floors, and DJs in the VIP room, according to Godby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But Smith noted that when Low and Ng gambled together, they accompanied \u201cFat\u201d Eric Tan Kim Loong, who was allegedly \u201cinvolved in all of the bank accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ng also hung out on a yacht Low rented in Nice for over \u20ac1 million and used Low\u2019s luxury London apartment.<\/p>\n

\u2018Glory and Greed\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWhy did he do it?” asked Smith. “Simple. Glory and greed. The defendant was making millions of dollars a year as a banker at Goldman Sachs, but that wasn’t good enough for him.<\/p>\n

He wanted the glory of bringing in the biggest deals that Goldman had ever done in Asia, to move up at the bank from managing director to partner; and, most importantly, he wanted the money he had been promised if the scheme succeeded, which ultimately was $35 million,” Smith continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ng denies knowing that some of this money was looted from 1MDB. He says it proceeded from a $6 million investment he and his wife had made with Leissner\u2019s second wife, Judy Chan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In closing arguments Monday, US prosecutors urged a federal jury in New York to convict former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng of money laundering and bribing foreign officials. They accuse the ex-banker of helping international fugitive Jho Low steal billions from the Malaysian sovereign investment fund, known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Prosecutors say Ng […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":208270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConvict Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive, Prosecutors Urge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng denies assisting fugitive financier Jho Low in looting $4.5 billion from Malaysia\u2019s 1MDB fund.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Convict Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive, Prosecutors Urge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng denies assisting fugitive financier Jho Low in looting $4.5 billion from Malaysia\u2019s 1MDB fund.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-06T13:33:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-08T17:59:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1182\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"693\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/\",\"name\":\"Convict Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive, Prosecutors Urge\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-06T13:33:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-08T17:59:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng denies assisting fugitive financier Jho Low in looting $4.5 billion from Malaysia\u2019s 1MDB fund.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg\",\"width\":1182,\"height\":693,\"caption\":\"Roger Ng, center, leaving a New York federal courtroom in May 2019. He denies helping rogue financier Jho Low loot the 1MDB fund in return for kickbacks. (Image: Jeenah Moon\/Reuters)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Goldman Sachs Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive Awaits Verdict\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Convict Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive, Prosecutors Urge","description":"Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng denies assisting fugitive financier Jho Low in looting $4.5 billion from Malaysia\u2019s 1MDB fund.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Convict Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive, Prosecutors Urge","og_description":"Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng denies assisting fugitive financier Jho Low in looting $4.5 billion from Malaysia\u2019s 1MDB fund.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-04-06T13:33:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-04-08T17:59:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1182,"height":693,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/","name":"Convict Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive, Prosecutors Urge","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg","datePublished":"2022-04-06T13:33:30+00:00","dateModified":"2022-04-08T17:59:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng denies assisting fugitive financier Jho Low in looting $4.5 billion from Malaysia\u2019s 1MDB fund.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Smith-e1649268947296.jpg","width":1182,"height":693,"caption":"Roger Ng, center, leaving a New York federal courtroom in May 2019. He denies helping rogue financier Jho Low loot the 1MDB fund in return for kickbacks. (Image: Jeenah Moon\/Reuters)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/convict-banker-who-gambled-with-1mdb-fugitive-prosecutors-urge\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Goldman Sachs Banker Who Gambled with 1MDB Fugitive Awaits Verdict"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}