Tim Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs banker who played a key role in the 1MDB scandal — one of the largest financial crimes in history — is asking President Trump for a pardon as he attempts to skirt a two-year stay in federal prison, according to a report.
Leissner filed his pardon application with the Department of Justice last year, according to the DOJ website. Bloomberg earlier reported on the filing.
He is scheduled to surrender to a federal prison in Southern California next month.
Leissner’s filing follows pleas for clemency from other disgraced scammers like Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang, both convicted for stealing millions.
Last week alone, Trump granted pardons to more than 20 people, including several convicted of white-collar crimes – a move that has drawn criticism.
Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Leissner, Goldman’s former Southeast Asia chairman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiracy charges, admitting that he engaged in a scheme to steal $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
He became the star witness during the 2022 trial, cooperating with the US government to share details on his former colleague Roger Ng – who ultimately received a 10-year sentence – and Malaysian financier Jho Low, who’s considered the mastermind of the fraud.
At his sentencing in May, Leissner pleaded with the court to spare him from prison time, writing in a letter that the crimes had already cost him his career, marriage and time with his children.
His lawyer argued that he played a crucial role in Ng’s conviction — and that Leissner faced break-ins, slashed tires and threatening messages as a result of his cooperation.
“If I could turn back time, I would and I would do so without hesitation,” a teary-eyed Leissner said during the hearing. “Unfortunately, that is not possible.”
US District Judge Margo Brodie ordered him to serve two years in federal prison, saying his cooperation “did not completely make up for the harm and devastation that you knowingly caused.”
The 1MDB fraud ultimately toppled the Malaysian government, led to investigations in six countries and resulted in billions of dollars in penalties for Goldman Sachs. Low is still at large.
The stolen funds were allegedly used to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, fund lavish lifestyles, and even back Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Leissner – who personally received more than $50 million in kickbacks, according to prosecutors – also had his personal life thrust into the spotlight, including the end of his marriage to fashion mogul Kimora Lee Simmons.
During the trial, he admitted to lying to colleagues, creating fake email accounts and forging documents – including a fake divorce decree he showed Simmons as proof that his split from his previous wife was final.
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