A former banker at the US group is reportedly talking about admitting charges linked to one of the largest financial scandals in recent Asian history.

A former Goldman Sachs banker is talking to US prosecutors to potentially plead guilty to criminal charges stemming from an alleged scheme to steal billions of dollars from a Malaysian state investment fund, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing unnamed sources.

The report said such talks could bring the investigation into one of the largest such frauds of its type closer to Goldman Sachs, which raised billions of dollars for 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Since the May 9 elections which saw the Malaysian administration led by Najib Razak fall from power, moves against the former prime minister, and other parties, have intensified. Already, authorities in the US, Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg, have probed claims that 1MDB-linked money has been laundered through the global financial system. In Singapore, the local operations of Falcon Private Bank and BSI were closed down by regulators. This publication understands that further revelations about wrongdoing in Singapore are likely. 

Najib Razak, who founded the fund, has been charged with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in relation to SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. Najib pleaded not guilty to those charges and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to 1MDB.

Tim Leissner, once a Goldman partner and Southeast Asia chairman, has not been charged, reports said. The WSJ said he wants an agreement with prosecutors that would involve his co-operation with the government’s criminal fraud probe into 1MDB and Goldman. A spokeswoman for the US Department of Justice reportedly declined to comment. A lawyer for Leissner also declined to comment, the report said. 

A Goldman Sachs spokesman reportedly told Reuters: “Since we suspended Mr Leissner, we have discovered certain activities he undertook that were deliberately hidden from the firm, which we have brought to the attention of the relevant authorities who continue to receive our full cooperation.”