NEW YORK: The wife of the former Goldman Sachs banker on trial over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal told the jury her feng shui master warned her husband’s boss of “bad karma” – a prediction that seems to have come true.

       Lim Hwee Bin, the wife of ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng, was testifying for Ng on Tuesday as he stands charged with conspiracy in the looting of the sovereign wealth fund.

       She told jurors that she and Ng arranged for feng shui readings with a “Master Pang” for Ng’s boss, Tim Leissner, in 2015 and 2016.

       Leissner, who pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the US government against Ng, has testified that the master told him a “female” would “be helpful to him in the future”.

       He said that when he met with Lim and Ng to discuss one of the feng shui readings, the three agreed to give authorities a “cover story” for a US$35mil (RM147mil) kickback for Ng.

       Lim told the federal panel in Brooklyn, New York, that the female in question was Leissner’s daughter.

       She said the meeting was to discuss the reading.

       She also told the jury that she and her husband consulted the feng shui master annually ahead of the Lunar New Year and whenever they looked for a new home or office.

       “Don’t cause bad karma,” Lim said Master Pang warned Leissner. “Whatever bad is coming is coming out of your mouth.”

       At the trial, Lim said she had no documentation proving that the US$35mil allegedly paid to Ng as an illegal kickback was a return on a legitimate investment.

       She said she invested her parents’ money in businesses controlled by the then-wife of Ng’s boss at the time (Leissner).

       But under questioning on Tuesday from a federal prosecutor, Lim said she had no records showing that payment to her offshore account was for an investment she had made earlier with Judy Chan Leissner in China.

       When Assistant US Attorney Alixandra Smith asked why not, Lim testified that she no longer had the single letter she received from Chan Leissner acknowledging receipt of the funds.

       “When you invest in China, there’s no point for documents,” Lim said. “Even if I have a document, where do I go to enforce it?”

       Pressed further by Smith about how the Lim family’s funds were transferred to Chan Leissner, Lim said, “Judy can explain.”

       Lim said she and her brother, both lawyers, didn’t ask questions about the investment and that Chan Leissner never told her exactly how much it was worth. — Bloomberg