KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Friday (March 24) confirmed that former Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan had surrendered US$10 million (RM44.3 million) worth of cash and assets related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd which she received from former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner.
Its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki when contacted by The Edge confirmed Rohana had returned it last year.
“Yes, it is correct,” Azam said in a text message.
A separate source familiar with the matter also confirmed the matter with The Edge.
Rohana was quizzed by the MACC last year, when Leissner testified in Roger Ng Chong Hwa’s trial last year that a media CEO with whom he had an affair had allegedly blackmailed him into buying her a US$10 million home.
Leissner described the person to be Rohana, and that he bought the property in London, after she allegedly threatened to expose his involvement in 1MDB.
“Ms Rozhan was very upset that I was ending our relationship to be with my future wife Kimora,” Leissner testified, referring to his wife 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 in 2013, I was very fearful of that.” Leissner had told the New York court hearing then.
As a result, Rohana was summoned to the MACC in February last year. Her lawyer from Messrs Valen & Oh said she pledged to assist in investigations.
Ng, the Malaysian Goldman Sachs banker, was convicted of conspiring to violate US anti-bribery laws and conspiring to launder money and was sentenced to 10 years jail.
On Thursday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said in a parliamentary written reply to Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, said that the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has no knowledge of whether Rohana has returned the US$10 million in assets she gained from Leissner.