Former Goldman director permanently banned from securities industry

A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive has admitted to violating U.S. anti-corruption laws in a scheme to bribe foreign officials.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to settle charges against Tim Leissner, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, for engaging in a scheme that involved bribing high-ranking government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to secure underwriting business from 1Malaysia Development Berhard.

Leissner consented to the SEC’s order, which found that he violated anti-bribery, internal accounting controls, and books and records provisions of the federal securities laws.

He agreed to be permanently banned from the securities industry and to pay US$43.7 million in disgorgement.

The SEC noted that its disgorgement order will be offset by amounts paid under a forfeiture order in a parallel criminal action against Leissner.

Last year, he pled guilty to two counts of conspiring to launder money and conspiring to violate anti-bribery laws in a New York court.

“Individual conduct lies at the heart of all bribery schemes,” said Charles Cain, chief of the SEC enforcement division’s anti-corruption unit.

“Here, Leissner abused his leadership role at Goldman Sachs by engaging in a massive bribery scheme targeting the highest levels of two foreign governments in order to bring in lucrative business to the firm and enrich himself,” he added.

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