U.S. government to jury in 1MDB trial: Convict even if you don’t believe our star witness.

A federal prosecutor informed jurors on Monday that they’d obtained sufficient proof to convict a former Goldman Sachs banker for his function in one of many largest worldwide cash laundering and bribery schemes even with out the testimony of the federal government’s star witness.

“You already know the defendant is responsible from different proof within the case,” Alixandra E. Smith, an assistant U.S. legal professional, mentioned throughout the federal government’s closing argument within the trial of Roger Ng in federal court docket in Brooklyn.

Mr. Ng is accused of receiving $35 million in unlawful kickbacks from a scheme to steal billions of {dollars} from the once-big Malaysian sovereign wealth fund referred to as 1MDB.

Over the course of the trial, Tim Leissner, a former Goldman accomplice who pleaded responsible and have become the federal government’s star witness, emerged as a controversial determine, and it’s not shocking federal prosecutors need the jury to not focus an excessive amount of on his testimony.

Throughout six days of a grueling cross-examination he admitted to mendacity lots in life. He was compelled to confess to initially mendacity to federal brokers, his fellow companions at Goldman and to his wives and girlfriends.

However Ms. Smith mentioned Mr. Leissner didn’t lie when he testified in Brooklyn federal court docket to the important thing details of the scheme, which was funded by a sequence of bond choices that Goldman organized for the 1MDB fund.

When it was time for Mr. Ng’s lawyer to current his closing arguments, he didn’t waste time calling out Mr. Leissner. The lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, mentioned Mr. Leissner was a person who “will lie if it fits his curiosity.” He mentioned that, regardless of what the prosecution had mentioned, with out Mr. Leissner’s testimony the federal government may join Mr. Ng to the conspiracy to steal billions from the 1MDB fund.

“There is no such thing as a proof that connects Roger,” Mr. Agnifilo mentioned. “There may be not a unclean e mail. Not a foul textual content message.”

In contrast, Mr. Agnifilo mentioned, the jury had seen textual content messages wherein Mr. Leissner was instructed on whom to pay bribe cash to by Jho Low, a flamboyant Malaysian businessman who was the architect of the scheme and is a fugitive believed to be dwelling in China.

Mr. Agnifilo mentioned Mr. Leissner had lied to the jury simply as he had accomplished different occasions in his life.

“It’s a lifetime of mendacity,” mentioned Mr. Agnifilo. “That is mendacity on a uncommon stage.”

Final week, the jury heard testimony from Mr. Ng’s spouse, Hwee Bin Lim, who mentioned the $35 million she and her husband obtained was the proceeds from a $6 million funding she made with Mr. Leissner’s second spouse, Judy Chan.

The protection has argued Mr. Ng and his spouse had been unaware that a few of the cash Ms. Chan transferred to them had been looted from 1MDB. Mr. Leissner has acknowledged getting tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in illicit proceeds within the scheme.

The case may go to the jury as quickly as Tuesday afternoon.