The recent ongoing 1MDB trial of former Malaysian banker Roger Ng in a US federal court revealed yet another mind-blowing secret involving yet another powerful entity in Malaysia.
During the trial on 22 February 2022, the Goldman Sachs Group’s former CEO, Tim Leissner, testified against his former colleague, Roger Ng.
In the midst of the prosecution, Leissner admitted that he had used part of the money he received from 1MDB to buy a US$10 million (RM41.8 million) house in London for his ex-lover, Datuk Rohana Rozhan, who was also the former CEO of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.
As simple as it sounds, her actions of blackmailing Leissner involved probably one of the most complicated emotions known to mankind, also known as love. Leissner admitted that Rohana was very upset with him ending their relationship because of his keen decision to be with his future wife.
As a result of their breakup, Rohana has threatened to expose Leissner if he doesn’t buy her a house worth RM41.8 million in London, UK.
Here’s what he said:
“Ms. Rozhan was very upset that I was ending our relationship to be with my future wife, with Kimora,”
“If I didn’t buy her a house, she would tell the authorities about my involvement in the 1MDB scandal. She was threatening to expose me. At the time, 2013, I was very fearful of that.”
According to Bloomberg, Richard Gnodde, his former boss in Goldman Sachs Group, warned him about his relationships with clients as Astro Malaysia had business dealings with Goldman Sachs.
If what Leissner testified was true, this would mean that the former CEO of Astro had known about the 1MDB scandal two years earlier than the public, as the 1MDB was not exposed until 2015.
All of this seems to have connected the dot, as Rohana herself announced to resign from Astro about a month after Pakatan Harapan came into power.
When Bloomberg reached out to Astro Malaysia for a comment, they did not immediately respond to their questions.
So, here comes a million-dollar question. Should Rohana be accountable for not exposing the 1MDB scandal to relevant authorities back in 2013 before the whole scandal was exposed? Comment below and let us know your thoughts!
Lee Jasen is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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