Leissner tells court he was blackmailed by Malaysian lover into buying US$10 million home

NEW YORK - Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner had on Tuesday testified that a media chief executive officer (CEO) with whom he had an affair with had blackmailed him into buying her a US$10 million home in London.

Leissner, who was the former chief of the Goldman’s Southeast Asia operation has been involved in mega-deals between the firm and Malaysia’s troubled sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

According to a report by Bloomberg, during the proceeding, Leissner was asked by prosecutor Drew Rolle about his extramarital affairs in which he cited several, including one with Rohana Rozhan, former CEO of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

He told the jury that the relationship lasted from 2003 to 2013.

Leissner also admitted that he did give Rohana money he received from the work he did for 1MDB.

He told the court that he had bought her a US$10 million home in London in 2013 after she had threatened to expose his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

“Ms Rozhan was very upset that I was ending our relationship to be with my future wife, with Kimora,” Leissner testified, referring to his wife American model Kimora Lee Simmons.

“If I didn’t buy her a house, she would tell the authorities about my involvement in the 1MDB scandal. She was threatening to expose me. At the time, 2013, I was very fearful of that.” he said.

In 2018, Leissner pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to violate the United States anti-bribery laws and to conspiring to launder money.

He said he had discussed his relationship with Rohana with his then boss, former Asia head Richard Gnodde, when it first started, adding that it was a sensitive issue because Goldman did business with Astro.

Although Gnodde who now runs the bank’s international business told him to be careful about relationships with clients, Leissner said he still continued with the relationship for another 10 years.

“Pretty much everybody in our Southeast Asia territory knew it,” he said.

Rohana resigned from Astro in 2019.