A former Goldman Sachs banker is expected to enter a plea later Monday in New York after being extradited from Malaysia to face bribery charges in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Malaysian Ng Chong Hwa, 51, a former managing director at the bank charged in both Malaysia and America over 1MDB, was extradited to the US on Friday, Malaysian attorney-general Tommy Thomas said.
Also known as Roger Ng, the defendant is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon after 1815 GMT at a federal court in Brooklyn, a spokesman for US Attorney's office said.
An attorney for Ng told Bloomberg he would contest the US criminal charges, which include conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Huge sums of public money were stolen from Malaysian state fund 1MDB and used to mass a trove of personal riches, including yachts and artwork, in a scheme allegedly overseen by former Premier Najib Razak and his cronies.
Goldman's role is under scrutiny as the Wall Street bank helped arrange $6.5 billion in bonds for 1MDB.
Authorities in Malaysia accuse former employees and some of the bank's subsidiaries of stealing USD 2.7 billion in the process and investigators believe cash was laundered through the US financial system.
Thomas said in a statement that an agreement had been reached for "a temporary surrender by Malaysia of Roger Ng for a period of 10 months to enable him to be extradited to the US and for the US prosecution to proceed first."
"Roger Ng was temporarily surrendered to the US on May 3, 2019, and shall be returned to Malaysia to face our charges as soon as the proceedings in the US are concluded," he added.
Ng had been in custody in Malaysia since November when the US unveiled 1MDB-linked charges against him and lodged an extradition request.
Malaysia later filed its own charges against Ng over the scandal.
Ng asked to be sent to the United States but Malaysia initially insisted he remain in the country until legal proceedings there had been completed.
Ng's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said Ng intends to stay in the United States as long as needed to fight the charges, Bloomberg reported.
Agnifilo will ask a judge to release Ng on bond, Bloomberg said. Malaysia and the US have also charged former Goldman partner Tim Leissner for his part in the controversy.
Leissner has already pleaded guilty in the US to 1MDB-linked charges.
The US also indicted Low Taek Jho, an alleged mastermind behind the scandal and an intermediary to the Malaysian fund. Low remains at large.
The US Justice Department estimates that USD 4.5 billion was looted from the fund by Najib and his associates.
The allegations played a major role in Najib's loss of power last year. He has since been hit with dozens of charges linked to the scandal and last month went on trial.
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