Goldman Sachs 'close to $2bn settlement' over 1MDB scandal

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/19/goldman-sachs-close-to-2bn-settlement-over-1mdb-scandal-malaysia

Goldman Sachs 'close to $2bn settlement' over 1MDB scandal

Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent

Thu 19 Dec 2019 18.39 GMT Last modified on Thu 19 Dec 2019 20.05 GMT

Goldman Sachs is close to reaching a settlement of nearly $2bn (£1.5bn) with the US Department of Justice over the 1MDB corruption scandal, according to a report.

The Wall Street bank is said to be formulating a deal under which its Asian subsidiary, rather than the parent company, would pay a multibillion-dollar fine and admit guilt for having allegedly turned a blind eye while $4.5bn was looted from its client, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.

The deal would also involve oversight from an independent monitor that would help reform the bank’s compliance rules, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The settlement package would end the US justice department’s investigation into Goldman Sachs’ role as an underwriter and arranger of bond sales for the wealth fund, totalling $6.5bn.

About $4.5bn was allegedly looted from 1MDB in a fraud said to have involved the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian financier Jho Low, and his associates. The funds were allegedly used to buy everything from yachts to artwork, and fund the production of Hollywood films including The Wolf of Wall Street.
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[Sherman A1]

1. They are getting off too cheap

It should be more like $9B and some folks in jail for life +++++