Justice came swiftly for Roger Ng, the 49-year-old former head of investment banking at Goldman Sachs Malaysia. After an eight-week US federal court trial, Ng was found guilty by a jury in Brooklyn, New York of violating anti-corruption laws and conspiring to launder billions from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, state development fund.
But in Malaysia itself, delays in prosecuting alleged crimes linked to the globe-spanning financial scandal is for many a rising source of frustration, one that is emboldening criminally convicted former premier Najib Razak, who is seeking to overturn his own 1MDB-related guilty verdict and 12-year jail sentence.
Portraying himself as the victim of a political conspiracy, Najib has mounted a strong political comeback while free on bail despite his conviction for money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in July 2020 in the first of five corruption trials he faces. He denies all wrongdoing and is waiting for a date to be set for his final appeal hearing on his conviction.
The speedy US conviction of Ng, also known by his birth name Ng Chong Hwa, is spurring calls for 1MDB-related trials in Malaysia to be expedited. US trial testimony directly implicated the ex-premier and his wife Rosmah Mansor, while also raising questions about the involvement of others – a fact Najib’s legal team is now attempting to leverage to the ex-premier’s advantage.
Read the full story at Asia Times.
Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
