Top Goldman bankers to pay back bonuses after scandal | Financial

CEO David Solomon, among others, has to bleed financially for the issue for which Goldman Sachs has confessed debt. His predecessor Lloyd Blankfein and other senior executives must also return millions of dollars in previous compensation.

The well-known Wall Street firm finds it important to make a gesture in this way. More than half of the money must come from three slightly less prominent people, including a former top executive of the Asian branch of the bank, who are still under litigation.

‘Large sums of money diverted’

Goldman Sachs previously struck big deals for the Malaysian state fund, which is at the center of a major scandal in Malaysia. The country’s former prime minister, Najib Razak, is said to have diverted large sums of money through the fund. The Malaysian government established 1MDB in 2009 as an investment fund for economic development. The US Justice estimates that billions of dollars have disappeared from the fund.

The affair will cost the bank dear. Domestically, Goldman Sachs has settled the case with Justice for more than $ 2.3 billion. This is the highest fine ever for a violation of the so-called Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In addition to the fine, Goldman Sachs must also repay more than half a billion dollars in profits made in Malaysia.

Goldman Sachs previously closed a $ 3.9 billion settlement with Malaysia due to its role in the scandal. In other countries, too, the Americans have to pay a lot of attention. For example, British authorities fined USD 126 million and Singapore fined USD 122 million. In Hong Kong, Goldman Sachs has to pay $ 350 million because the bank has dropped in areas such as supervision, compliance with regulations and anti-money laundering measures.

Avoid prosecution in the US

Through the US settlement, further prosecution in the US is avoided for the bank as a whole. The latter is important for the company. Had it come to a conviction, some major customers may have had to leave Goldman Sachs. Some companies are not allowed to do business with banks with a criminal past.

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