Tim Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs banker who admitted his role in one of the largest financial frauds in history, is seeking a presidential pardon before he surrenders to a federal prison in the US.
Leissner filed his pardon application to the US Justice Department last year, according to a notice on the DOJ website. It was submitted between September 3 and November 18, according to archived copies posted on lawyeroyer.com.
Leissner, Goldman’s former Southeast Asia chairman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to engaging in a scheme to embezzle US$4.5 billion from Malaysian fund 1MDB. He cooperated with prosecutors and became the US government’s star witness against a former Goldman colleague at a 2022 trial in Brooklyn, New York.
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The White House is sifting through thousands of clemency requests, including a pardon bid by Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang, who was convicted over the collapse of his US$36 billion family office, and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in her blood-testing start-up.
Last week, US President Donald Trump granted clemency to more than 20 people, including several convicted of white-collar crimes. Trump says he is using his unchecked clemency powers to correct abuses in the criminal justice system against those prosecuted for political reasons. But critics say he is abusing the process and undermining the work of prosecutors.
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At his May sentencing, Leissner and prosecutors argued he should be spared prison because his cooperation resulted in the conviction of a former colleague and billions of dollars in global fines against Goldman. But a federal judge ordered him jailed for two years, calling his conduct “brazen and audacious”.