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☆ Singapore’s clean reputation gets a timely test
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Singapore could turn a governance crisis into an opportunity. Its transport minister S. Iswaran and Ong Beng Seng, the property billionaire credited with bringing Formula One to the city, were arrested and released on bail last week. The rare high-profile probe involving a public official by the hub’s anti-graft agency is a timely test of the Asian centre’s willingness to act tough on corruption. It's been six days since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed the investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and the exact details remain unclear. S. Iswaran and businessman Ong Beng Seng were arrested on July 11 and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said.

Persons: Ong Beng Seng, It's, Lee Hsien Loong, Iswaran, Ong, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Formula, Practices, Beijing, DBS, Hotel Properties, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Asia, Hong Kong, COMO

☆ Ex-aide to 1MDB fugitive Jho Low dies weeks after questioning
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Reuters) - A former aide to Malaysian fugitive Jho Low - wanted for his central role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption scandal - has died weeks after being questioned by Malaysian authorities on Low's whereabouts, his lawyers said on Wednesday. He was questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on arrival and had his house searched, media reported. Malaysian authorities have previously said Low was believed to be in China, though Beijing has denied that. Low has been charged in Malaysia and the United States for allegedly masterminding the theft of $4.5 billion from now-defunct fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who co-founded 1MDB, was sentenced to 12 years in prison last year for graft linked to the scandal.

Persons: Jho, Kee Kok Thiam, Valen, Kee, Al Jazeera, Al, Low, Najib Razak, Hasnoor Hussain, Rozanna Latiff, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Malaysian, Partners, Malaysian Anti, Corruption, 1Malaysia Development, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysian, U.S, Malaysia, Macau, 1MDB, China, Al Jazeera, Beijing, United States

☆ Pras Michel Convicted of Involvement in Foreign-Influence Scheme Linked to 1MDB
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pras Michel, former member of the Fugees, exits federal court in Washington. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg NewsWASHINGTON— Pras Michel , who rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Fugees hip-hop trio, was found guilty Wednesday of serving as the linchpin of a multimillion-dollar foreign-influence scheme that spanned two presidencies and combined celebrity with political intrigue. After a monthlong trial, a jury in Washington convicted Mr. Michel on charges he improperly injected millions of dollars in donations to then-President Barack Obama ’s re-election campaign in 2012 and, years later, illegally lobbied the Trump administration.

☆ Former Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Convicted of Role in Foreign-Influence Scheme Tied to 1MDB
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pras Michel, former member of the Fugees, leaving federal court in Washington earlier this month. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg NewsWASHINGTON— Pras Michel , who rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Fugees hip-hop trio, was found guilty Wednesday of serving as the linchpin of a multimillion-dollar foreign-influence scheme that spanned two presidencies and combined celebrity with political intrigue. After a monthlong trial, a jury in Washington convicted Mr. Michel on charges he improperly injected millions of dollars in donations to then-President Barack Obama ’s re-election campaign in 2012 and, years later, illegally lobbied the Trump administration.

☆ Fugees rapper convicted in US over lobbying campaigns with Malaysian financier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Nathan HowardWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday convicted Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of The Fugees hip hop group on criminal charges that he conspired with a Malaysian financier to orchestrate a series of foreign lobbying campaigns aimed at influencing the U.S. government under two presidents. Low, who also faces separate federal charges in New York that he embezzled $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, remains at large. Because federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to U.S. campaigns, prosecutors said Michel masked the source of the funds. "Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money," Michel told the jury, describing the payment as "free money." On whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, Michel told jurors that his attorney George Higgenbotham never told him it was required by law.

☆ Fugees star says money from Malaysian financier was for Obama photo, not campaign donation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Michel faces criminal conspiracy, foreign lobbying and campaign finance charges for allegedly plotting with Low to attempt to influence the administrations of Obama and former President Donald Trump. Michel said he used some of the funds for three friends to attend $40,000-a-plate fundraisers for Obama. "When you received the money from Jho Low, you used it to make political contributions," federal prosecutor John Keller said in a Washington court. "Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money." Michel is accused of involvement with Low in three schemes, for which prosecutors say he was paid millions of dollars.

☆ Malaysia to review $3.9 bln settlement deal with Goldman Sachs - PM Anwar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Reuters) - The Malaysian government is re-evaluating a $3.9 billion settlement deal reached between the previous administration and U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N) over the 1MDB financial scandal, state news agency Bernama reported on Monday. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday a government taskforce looking into 1MDB issues was scrutinising the 2020 deal with Goldman, adding that it was a matter of recovering public funds, Bernama reported. "I agree (with a review) because from the start, I felt the settlement agreement was done hastily which led to many questions being raised," Anwar was quoted as saying by Bernama. Goldman had helped 1MDB raise $6.5 billion in two bond offerings, earning itself $600 million in fees, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Since taking office last November, Anwar has sought to review previous governments' decisions on 1MDB in a bid to recoup money embezzled from the fund.

☆ Ex-DOJ lawyer tells jury he met with Chinese to further illegal lobbying campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

George Higginbotham testified that he made money on the side while working at the Justice Department by offering legal advice to Michel, a long-time friend. But he did so anyway, telling the jury he let his friendship with Michel cloud his judgment. "This could get me in a lot of trouble," he told the jury he recalled thinking, adding that his actions were "definitely outside of official lines." Higginbotham, who pleaded guilty in 2018 for his role in the foreign influence campaign, testified that Justice Department investigators later found out about his meeting and questioned him. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio Testifies at Pras Michel’s 1MDB Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Byron Tau | Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been friends with rapper Pras Michel for years, hasn’t been accused of any crime. WASHINGTON—Actor Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in a Washington federal courthouse on Monday to testify in a closely watched criminal case featuring a potent mix of celebrity, money and geopolitical intrigue. The Academy Award-winning star of blockbusters such as “Titanic,” “The Revenant” and “Catch Me If You Can” appeared as a witness in a sprawling Hollywood-meets-Washington trial against the rapper Pras Michel , a founding member of the hip-hop trio the Fugees.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio testifies in Fugees rapper's lobbying trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DiCaprio is one of several prominent figures linked to Low, who is suspected of embezzling $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Michel faces 11 criminal counts for trying to influence the administrations of Obama and former President Donald Trump. Prosecutors said Michel agreed to funnel money into Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and hide the source of the funds. Prosecutors said Michel later waged an illegal influence campaign to persuade the Trump administration to stop investigating Low. Michel and other co-conspirators are also accused of lobbying the Trump administration at China's behest to return Guo to China.

☆ Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak (C) greets supporters as he walks out during a break in the trial during an appeal against his corruption conviction over the 1MDB financial scandal, at the federal court in Putrajaya, on Aug. 23, 2022. Malaysia's top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib's judicial efforts to challenge the guilty verdict. Najib was jailed last year after Malaysia's Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence handed down to him by a lower court. Federal Court Judge Vernon Ong said a five-member panel voted 4-1 to dismiss Najib's application to review the conviction. "In the final analysis, and having regard to all circumstances, we are constrained to say that the applicant (Najib) was the author of his own misfortunes," Ong said.

☆ Jailed Malaysian ex-PM Najib loses final bid to review graft conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Rozanna Latiff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Reuters) - Malaysia's top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib's judicial efforts to challenge the guilty verdict. Najib was jailed last year after Malaysia's Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence handed down to him by a lower court. Federal Court Judge Vernon Ong said a five-member panel voted 4-1 to dismiss Najib's application to review the conviction. Najib faces three other trials related to graft at 1MDB and other government agencies. Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Ed Davies and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/5] Grammy award-winning Fugees rapper Prakazrel (Pras) Michel, who is facing criminal charges in an alleged illegal lobbying campaign, arrives for opening arguments in his trial at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2023. "This is a case about foreign money, influence and concealment," Lockhart said during her opening statement in Washington on Thursday. "Through this scheme, the defendant duped the Obama campaign," Lockhart told the jury. For his work on these two lobbying campaigns on behalf of Low and China, prosecutors said Michel was paid $70 million. Low remains a fugitive in the Michel case.

☆ Rapper Pras Michel Is Unlikely Defendant in Case of International Skulduggery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Former Fugees rap star Pras Michel is trying to beat a case related to one of the largest financial scandals in history, one that has already toppled a prime minister and tarnished the reputation of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.Actor Leonardo DiCaprio , casino mogul Steve Wynn and senior Trump administration officials are among those expected to testify in the Hollywood-meets-Washington trial opening this week against Mr. Michel, who faces numerous criminal charges related to his business relationship with the alleged mastermind of the 1MDB fraud.

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday ordered former Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) banker Roger Ng to forfeit $35.1 million, after sentencing him to 10 years in prison for helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and suspected mastermind of the scheme, was also indicted but remains at large. Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay $2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted in a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Middle East pivot to Asia is strategic this time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Xi Jinping has brokered a deal the United States would have found hard to secure, despite its traditional military influence in the Middle East. The Middle East has trained its financial sights on Asia before. At current rates of growth, emerging Asia will become the top trade partner for the Gulf countries by 2028, per Asia House, surpassing advanced economies. As U.S.-China relations continue to sour, the Asian financial centre is looking to the Middle East to find new foreign companies to trade in the territory. Delegations from the two Middle East countries held talks in Beijing between March 6 and 10, the statement added.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years in prison for 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng exits the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse after being sentenced for his part helping embezzle from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, in Brooklyn, New York, March 9, 2023. Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The charges stem from some $6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB, which was founded to finance development projects in Malaysia, sell in 2012 and 2013. U.S. prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. Funds were used to buy high-end real estate, jewelry and artwork, and finance the Hollywood film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," according to the Department of Justice.

☆ Former Goldman Sachs Banker to Be Sentenced for 1MDB Scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Roger Ng, in blue shirt, says he isn’t guilty but has accepted the jury’s verdict. A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker is set to be sentenced Thursday for helping to loot billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund in a global financial scandal that tarnished the Wall Street bank. Roger Ng , a 51-year-old Malaysian national, was convicted last year in a New York federal court in Brooklyn of conspiring with a well-connected financier and a former Goldman partner to pay off officials to win lucrative business deals with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a state-controlled economic-development company known as 1MDB.

☆ Former Goldman Sachs Banker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for 1MDB Scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Roger Ng, in blue shirt, says he isn’t guilty but has accepted the jury’s verdict. A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for helping to loot billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund in a global financial scandal that tarnished the Wall Street bank. Roger Ng , a 51-year-old Malaysian national, was convicted last year in a New York federal court in Brooklyn of conspiring with a well-connected financier and a former Goldman partner to pay off officials to win lucrative business deals with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a state-controlled economic-development company known as 1MDB.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng sentenced to 10 years prison in 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted by a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. He spent six months in a Malaysian prison before waiving his right to contest extradition to the United States in 2018. He pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement. Malaysian officials have said Low is in China, which Beijing denies. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker sentenced to 10 years prison in 1MDB corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

☆ ExodusPoint is on the comeback trail after a rocky 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's the beginning of the month, which means a chance to see how the top hedge funds are performing. But the top dog among large multi-strategy hedge funds was ExodusPoint. Click here to check out the performance of top hedge funds like Citadel, Millennium, and Point72. Working on Wall Street is so bad this woman left to clean up crime scenes. Stacey Foyster detailed how after a decade on Wall Street in risk analysis, she opted for a career change.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Ng deserves 15 years in prison, US prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In his own sentencing request on Feb. 25, Ng asked that he be given no prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia. He had spent six months in a Malaysian prison before waiving his right to contest extradition to the United States in 2018. Prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. Leissner pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement.

☆ Ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng deserves 15 years in prison after 1MDB scandal, U.S. prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Roger Ng, a former banker for Goldman Sachs Group, exits from federal court in New York, U.S. on May 6, 2019. In his own sentencing request on Feb. 25, Ng asked that he be given no prison time and be allowed to return to Malaysia. U.S. prosecutors on Friday urged a judge to sentence former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. Leissner pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio was interviewed by the FBI over his relationship with a Malaysian businessman involved with the 1MDB scandal, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kim Kardashian were interviewed by the FBI in 2018 and 2019, Bloomberg reported. The stars had received gifts from Jho Low, who is accused of masterminding the 1MDB scandal. Earlier, DiCaprio had to return a number of gifts given to him by Low, including an Oscar won by Marlon Brando. On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed previously undisclosed documents which show the FBI interviewing DiCaprio in 2018 about his relationship with Low. Representatives for Kardashian and DiCaprio did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.

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