[Photo: globalriskinsights.com]

The 1MDB scandal that has embroiled Goldman Sachs for years, has now claimed the career of former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner. Mr. Leissner was issued a 10-year ban by the securities regulator for SinTimgapore, which plans to issue similar bans against 3 other individuals involved in the scandal.

Goldman Sachs raised $6.5 billion for a Malaysian government investment fund - known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB – for which Goldman earned nearly $600 million in fees. That state fund today is at the center of what investigators consider one of the largest financial frauds in history. Investigators say that funds raised for 1MDB were channeled into a web of personal bank accounts and ultimately used by Prime Minister Najib as a political slush fund and by his associates to buy paintings, luxury real estate and investment stakes in movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Among other things, U.S. regulators who are investigating the scandal, have been trying to determine whether Goldman had reason to suspect that money it helped 1MDB raise was misused and, if so, whether the bank was obligated to report any concerns to authorities. The probes continue on several levels.

Going back to Leissner, who left Goldman Sachs in February 2016.   The Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS, said it banned the former banker because he issued an unauthorized letter to a financial institution and made false statements on behalf of the U.S. bank without its knowledge.

A lifetime ban is expected to be placed on Jens Sturzenegger, a former branch manager at Falcon Private Bank, as well as on Yak Yew Chee, a former banker with BSI SA; a 15-year order is expected against another BSI banker, Yvonne Seah Yew Foong.