PUTRAJAYA - Former Goldman Sachs bank officer Roger Ng Chong Hwa is in police custody to assist the government in recovering assets related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the length of Ng’s stay in Malaysia, however, would depend on the investigation process carried out by the police and other related agencies.
"He is in police custody now. We (the Ministry of Home Affairs) only facilitated bringing him back because the police still have things to settle with him.
"The reason for him coming back is to help the government work towards asset recovery," he told the media after attending the ministry’s engagement session here today.
Asked about the legal provisions for Ng to be investigated and the charges he would face, Saifuddin Nasution said the matter had yet to be determined in detail.
"I leave it to the police. They will identify under what law and so on. So whether they continue the old investigation or there is a new investigation, that's the police’s jurisdiction.
"That (charges) depends on the result of the investigations. It's premature for me to predict that," he said.
According to Saifuddin Nasution, Ng arrived in Malaysia yesterday and this was the result of cooperation and a treaty between the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC).
According to him, the AGC, which was then headed by Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, had given the DoJ until February 2024 to complete the case against Ng.
"However, the case was resolved (in the US) earlier, and Ng has been returned here for further investigation by Malaysia," he said.
Asked whether Ng would be sent back to the US to serve the 10-year prison sentence handed down to him by the court there, Saifuddin Nasution said it would depend on the outcome of the investigation.
"Anyway, we are bound to any terms that have been agreed either at the treaty level or at the correspondence level between the two countries through the AGC and the DoJ.
"Our main objective is how he can help with the effort to recover the assets belonging to the people because of his involvement in Goldman Sachs and such," he said. - BERNAMA