KUALA LUMPUR – The United States (US) government is considering Malaysia’s request to extradite former Goldman Sachs executive Tim Leissner over his role in the 1MDB scandal, said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
In a statement, the AGC said the extradition request was submitted on 14 August 2024.
Malaysia, it added, has also taken follow-up actions, including providing additional information requested by the US.
“Since 2023, when Roger Ng was returned to Malaysian investigators after being tried and convicted in the United States, new information has been uncovered.
“Malaysia continues its efforts to obtain documents that were never previously accessible and to pursue individuals—including Tim Leissner—who have never been brought before the Malaysian justice system,” it said.
According to the AGC, Malaysia continues to suffer not only ongoing financial implications but also irreparable losses until these extensive efforts are fully completed.
Therefore, the AGC stressed, Malaysia will not give up in seeking fair and proper restitution from the global banking giant and all those who conspired in this criminal conduct.
“The Malaysian public holds deep concern over the role played by Goldman Sachs in one of the largest fraud schemes in modern history, which displaced Malaysians as its primary victims,” the AGC added.
In May 2025, Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a court in New York for his role in the scandal involving 1MDB.
Malaysian and US authorities estimate that US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB through a complex scheme spanning multiple countries.
Leissner, who previously served as Goldman Sachs’ Southeast Asia chairman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and conspiring in money laundering related to the scandal.
Meanwhile, Ng, the only Goldman Sachs banker to be tried in the United States over the fraud, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, in 2022.
The United States later allowed him to return to Malaysia in 2023 to assist local authorities with their investigation, even though he was supposed to begin serving his prison term. – 12 December 2025