Malaysian fraud scandal hits Goldman Sachs’ results with profits down 19% from the previous year
Goldman Sachs’ missed profit expectations as it blamed a surge in litigation charges
Legal costs relating to a Malaysian fraud scandal have weighed on Goldman Sachs’ results.
The US bank missed profit expectations as it blamed a surge in litigation charges.
It made profits of £6.4billion over 2019, down 19 per cent from the previous year, after setting aside £940million to cover litigation.
The Wall Street giant has been rocked by the fallout from 1MDB, a Malaysian investment fund designed to direct money into strategic projects.
In 2015, then-prime minister Najib Razak was accused of channelling money from the fund into his own bank accounts.
Goldman Sachs sold bonds to investors on behalf of the fund, and much of the legal provisions it has set aside are expected to go towards a settlement to resolve accusations that it overlooked corruption at 1MDB.
The bank revenues in total for the year were effectively flat at £27.8billion.