Prosecution in ex-Goldman banker Ng's case told to get instructions from AGC

The prosecution in former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa’s case was today ordered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to obtain appropriate instructions from the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) so that the case will not be on hold for too long.

Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin said this after deputy public prosecutor Zaki Asyraf Zubir informed the court of Ng’s temporary extradition to the US until Feb 28, 2024, to proceed with appeals in criminal cases brought against him in the country.

"If this case is postponed after February 2024, it will be too long. Maybe the prosecution can get proper instructions from the attorney-general," said Jamil, who also set Jan 10 for case management for the prosecution to inform the court of any developments.

Earlier, Zaki told the court that Ng’s criminal case in the US had concluded and while sentencing was slated for Nov 9, this had been postponed to Dec 9.

Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, representing Ng, said the Malaysian and US governments had agreed to the temporary extradition of his client to the US until Feb 28, 2024 and suggested that the court fix a date for case management in January or February 2023.
 
"This is because the sentencing process has been set by the Eastern District Court of New York on Dec 9," he added.

On April 8, Ng was found guilty by the US court of corruption related to his role in helping loot hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB.

On Dec 19, 2018, Ng pleaded not guilty to four charges of abetting Goldman Sachs in the sale of 1MDB bonds valued at US$6.5 billion by dropping material facts and making false statements.

He was charged with committing the offences at the 1MDB office at Menara IMC, No 8, Jalan Sultan Ismail between March 19, 2012, and Nov 11, 2013.

On Sept 4 last year, the charges against Goldman Sach International Ltd and its two entities in Asia, namely Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC and Goldman Sachs (Singapore), were dropped after High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan allowed the prosecution’s application to withdraw the charges on the sale of 1MDB bonds valued at US$$6.5 billion.