*

Leissner cooperated with authorities, aiding 1MDB

investigation

*

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) fined $3 billion, Malaysian unit pleaded

guilty

*

Ex-colleague Roger Ng previously sentenced to 10 years,

transported to Malaysia for probes

*

Malaysian minister urges maximum jail term for Leissner

(Adds Malaysian minister's response; paragraphs 13-14)

By Saeed Azhar

NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs

banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a

judge in a New York court on Thursday after playing a key role

in a multi-billion dollar scandal involving Malaysia's sovereign

fund 1MDB.

Malaysian and U.S. authorities estimated $4.5 billion was stolen

from 1MDB in an elaborate scheme that spanned the globe and

implicated high-level officials in the fund, former Malaysian

Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman executives and others.

Leissner, a former Southeast Asia chairman for Goldman, pleaded

guilty in 2018 to a conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt

Practices Act and participating in a money laundering

conspiracy, all tied to his role in the 1MDB scandal.

Leissner's conduct was "brazen and audacious," judge Margo

Brodie said during sentencing. While his cooperation with the

government was taken into account, it did not make up for the

harm caused by the corruption at the highest levels in several

countries, the judge said.

"First and foremost, I offer my sincere apology to the

people of Malaysia," Leissner, 55, told the hearing, his voice

breaking as he read a statement. "I deeply regret my actions."

Goldman helped sell $6.5 billion of bonds for 1MDB, which

former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib set up with the help of

Low to promote economic development.

Some of the funds were diverted to offshore bank accounts

and shell companies linked to Malaysian financier Jho Low, who

is now a fugitive.

Leissner became a U.S. government witness in the case after

his arrest in 2018. He was allowed to remain free after he

agreed to help the government in the investigation and testified

against former banking colleague Roger Ng.

Ng has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to

launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. The former head

of investment banking for Goldman in Malaysia was convicted in

Brooklyn and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but transported to

Malaysia in 2023 to assist probes there.

Leissner met with the government on dozens of occasions,

reviewing countless documents and communications he received

related to the 1MDB scheme and other matters, according to a

filing by prosecutors.

"We respect the court's decision today and Mr. Leissner is

prepared to serve his sentence and continue his future life of

good works and care for his family," said his lawyer Henry

Mazurek, a partner at Meister Seelig & Fein PLLC.

Prosecutors requested the court impose a sentence below the

applicable guidelines range due to Leissner's cooperation in the

probe.

Malaysian minister Johari Abdul Ghani, who chairs its

1MDB asset recovery taskforce, said the two-year prison term for

Leissner was

"too short"

.

"Considering he is one of the masterminds facilitating

the 1MDB scandal, he should be given a maximum jail sentence,"

Johari told Reuters in a text message on Friday.

ONLY CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST GOLDMAN

Leissner told the court that he had lost his freedom, family

and financial independence in the wake of the scandal. The

former executive said his health also suffered, and that he took

pills and lost the will to live.

Goldman said in a letter to the court on May 21 that

Leissner deceived his colleagues for years, culminating in the

only criminal case filed against Goldman in its 156-year

history.

Goldman in 2020 paid a record $2.9 billion fine in the

United States and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead

guilty in U.S. court. It also clawed back $174 million in

executive compensation.

Malaysia's former prime minister Najib was found guilty in

2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for

illegally receiving funds misappropriated from a unit of state

investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Malaysia's top court in 2022 upheld a guilty verdict against

Najib, sentencing him to 12 years in prison. The sentence was

later halved by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia's former

king.

The former premier is currently in prison and is pursuing a

legal bid to compel authorities to let him serve the rest of his

sentence at home.