THE STRAITS TIMES – The daughter of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said she got a job with TPG Capital after Tim Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs Group banker and star witness in the ongoing bribery trial linked to 1MDB in the United States (US), made the introductions.
Nooryana Najwa Najib said the introduction to TPG was made after she was told that getting a job with Goldman Sachs’ “demanding analyst programme” could be a conflict of interest given that the investment bank does business with the Malaysian government.
Her comments, made on Facebook, confirm the close relationship that Leissner, Goldman’s former Southeast Asia chairman, and his former colleague Roger Ng enjoyed with Najib and his family.
Leissner is testifying against Ng, who prosecutors say received millions of dollars in kickbacks for helping to embezzle funds from state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which was founded by Najib in 2009 to promote economic development in Malaysia.
“Meeting senior banking professionals such as Roger Ng and Tim Leissner was nothing more than an opportunity to learn more about Goldman Sachs’ demanding analyst programme,” she said in the post in response to Leissner’s testimony that he tried to get Najib’s children jobs at Goldman in return for business.
“Any college senior will attest that you need to do your groundwork and network with industry professionals in order to land a competitive job that matches your interests,” she added.
