High stakes for PM Anwar in Malaysia-US tussle over custody of convicted banker Roger Ng in latest 1MDB twist

Sometime in the second week of July, the Malaysian government issued a formal request to the US to surrender Ng so that he could face outstanding 1MDB-related charges here. 

Malaysian government officials close to the situation told CNA that the request was in line with the terms in the government-to-government arrangement under the original extradition of the former Goldman Sachs banker more than four years ago.

US government prosecutors, however, are baulking. Washington wants Ng, who was convicted for conspiring with his former Goldman Sachs boss Tim Leissner and fugitive financial Low Taek Jho in the multi-billion-dollar looting of 1MDB, to serve out his jail time before he can be handed over to the Malaysian authorities.

They noted that Ng has knowledge about previously undisclosed dealings between Low and top executives of Goldman Sachs over 1MDB that could significantly strengthen Malaysia’s case for a higher settlement.

Malaysian government officials involved in the ongoing 1MDB asset recovery campaign noted that Ng, a 51-year-old finance executive who once served as the head of the Goldman Sachs office in Malaysia, has made informal representations through his lawyers that he would be ready to cooperate with Kuala Lumpur on matters related to the US banking giant. 
 
It is unclear whether Ng has struck a legal compromise with the Malaysian government.

“The priority now is to get him (Ng) back to Malaysia and how much he can assist in the Goldman matter would be a consideration over how we in turn handle his legal troubles,” said a government official who is closely involved with a task force Mr Anwar set up to lead the 1MDB asset recovery campaign.
 
Marc Agnifilo, Ng’s chief legal counsel in the US who Malaysian government sources noted was in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year for discussions with senior officials from the Home Ministry, did not respond to queries submitted by CNA.
 
Mr Anwar, who has declared publicly the US$3.9 billion (S$5.29 billion) settlement reached between Goldman Sachs and the previous Muhyiddin Yassin administration as being far from satisfactory, has made the US banking group a major target in his government’s ongoing 1MDB asset recovery campaign. 

That staggered settlement arrangement, which included an upfront payment of US$2.5 billion, is now tied down in a dispute between the two parties over milestone financial settlements for the remaining US$1.4 billion.