PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz denies former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner’s allegation that he attended a Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) meeting in 2009.

       Leissner, who is a witness in the corruption trial of fellow Goldman banker Roger Ng in a United States federal court, was reported to have said that Tengku Zafrul was present in a 2009 meeting - before TIA became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

       Terengganu Ruler Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin as well as Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low - the key figure in the 1MDB scandal - were among those at the same meeting, Leissner alleged in his testimony.

       In a Facebook post Thursday (March 3), Tengku Zafrul denied the claims made by Leissner, which were reported in online portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

       “In reference to the FMT article on Tim Leissner’s testimony at a trial in the US, I would like to confirm that I have never attended any meeting pertaining to TIA in 2009 with the Sultan of Terengganu and other individuals mentioned,” Tengku Zafrul said in his post.

       FMT had reported that Leissner told the court that Ng, Goldman’s former investment banking head in Malaysia, had invited him to a meeting on TIA with the Terengganu Sultan.

       Leissner, however, told the court he was unsure if he knew at the time that Tengku Zafrul was from Kenanga Investment Bank.

       Ng is charged with conspiring to launder money and violating anti-bribery law in his dealings with 1MDB.

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