The Goldman Sachs Group and its Malaysian subsidiary have admitted to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) through a large-scale bribery scheme.
Between 2009-14, Goldman Sachs paid more than $1.6 billion in bribes to foreign officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The bribes helped the Bank secure business benefits from 1MDB, a Malaysian government-owned fund created for development projects in Malaysia. Furthermore, despite the identification of several red flags upon due diligence, the Bank did not adequately address the issues. This way, it was able to get the transactions approved and maintain its business with 1MDB.
Consequently, Goldman Sachs must now pay around $2.9 billion in fines. The US Department of Justice will then transfer over $1.6 billion to the other jurisdictions where Goldman Sachs has reached similar resolutions. These include the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia among others.
Source name: US Department of Justice