Ng “Roger” Chong Hwa has been extradited to the US from his native Malaysia to face charges of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ng was indicted in October 2018. According to the indictment, while employed as Managing Director of a US financial institution, Ng conspired to obtain and retain business from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a strategic investment and development company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Malaysia, by exploiting his co-conspirator’s close relationship to government officials in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia. The indictment alleges that of the $6.5 billion raised by the co-conspirators in bond transactions to support 1MDB projects for the benefit of the Malaysian people, over $2.7 billion was misappropriated and used as bribes to government officials in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia. The indictment further alleges that Ng and others circumvented their employer’s internal accounting controls and concealed their involvement in the scheme. Ng was arrested in Malaysia on November 1, 2018.
One of Ng’s co-conspirators, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty in November 2018 to conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the FCPA. A third alleged co-conspirator, Low Taek Jho, remains at large.