A former Swiss banker revealed that predators of Malaysia's 1MDB state investment fund are seeking $18 million in compensation from corrupt former Goldman Sachs senior director, which will be sentenced on Thursday.
Xavier Justo was sentenced to a ransom case related to 1MDB in Thailand, and he believes the money would recognize that he had paid a decade of price to tell the truth about the fund.
Justo's claim filed in the application filed with a New York State judge, Tim Leissner, will be filed in the former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia Operation, which will test the U.S. application for compensation law to victims of federal crimes.
Even in part of the grant from District Court Judge Margo Brodie, who is scheduled to sentence Lesner on Thursday, it could offer new avenues for people affected by white-collar crimes to claim compensation.
It is unclear when Brody will rule the claim, highlighting the still-incomplete estimate of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.
It relies in part on competition between Leissner and the U.S. government, that the crimes of the former Gorman banker should be seen as part of the broader 1MDB conspiracy, so he can be held responsible for Justo's harm.
John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School, said Justo's claim was "engaging" and would "change white-collar criminal prosecutions" if he secured a significant part of his request.
"If the defendant is in a solvency situation, the victim will be identified by the plaintiff's attorney," Coffee said. Justo included the interest claim on the money he was blocked from using in a "small bit."
The case against Leissner was a former Goldman Sachs senior pilot for allegedly misappropriating more than $2.7 billion in bond transactions arranged for 1MDB in 2012 and 2013.
Leissner agreed to work with U.S. authorities in 2018 and pleaded guilty to allegations of money laundering and foreign bribery.
Justo worked for Petrosaudi International, a joint venture with 1MDB. When he left the company in 2011, he brought an email. The communications eventually led to a story in the February 2015 Sarawak Report blog, accusing of conspiracy to steal at least $700 million from 1MDB.
Justo was arrested by Thai police on Koh Samui Island, where he established a resort. He pleaded guilty to blackmail and tried to blackmail him in an attempt to obtain severance money, saying he was due from Petrosaudi and sentenced to three years in prison.
After that, Justo said he admitted that he threatened him because Thai officials and Petrosaudi representatives did not sentence him to a long sentence. Both Petrosaudi and Thai authorities have denied any misconduct.
Last year, a Swiss court ruled that Petrosaudi's leading executives Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony misappropriated more than $1.8 billion in public funds, and prosecutors marked the "Century Scam". The two are very attractive.
"Mr Justo's plan was hindered after sharing key documents with a reporter with Mr Leissner and his accomplice," the paper submitted by Justo's attorney read.
“Mr. Justo expressed the exact risks that Mr. Leissner and his accomplices have identified and managed successfully over the years: One would find that 1MDB is nothing more than a tool for theft and abuse of billions of dollars,” it wrote.
Justo, who was released in Bangkok in 2016, believes he should receive compensation under the U.S. Compulsory Victims Compensation Act and the Crime Victims Rights Act. His claims include $9.5 million in property and business, including a resort in Thailand, where he said he was forced to sell at a discount and earn $8.6 million in interest.
Leissner objected to the $18 million claim filed in court, believing that his crime was not the cause of any injury just suffered. Leissner said he was never charged with being part of alleged retaliation plan to imprison Justo in Thailand, who is not eligible for being a victim under U.S. law.
The U.S. Department of Justice opposed this claim on similar grounds. Justo said in the filing that Justo's "losses are not a specific act based on Lesner's conviction."
1MDB's case reached the top of Malaysian politics and was imprisoned in 2022 for former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Malaysian financier Jho Low has planned several plots that stole at least $4.5 billion from the fund, which is still broad but sticks to its innocence, according to U.S. investigators.