Department of Justice

Goldman Sachs Agrees to Record $2.9B DOJ Settlement in Embezzlement Scandal

The fund's overseers bought real estate in Beverly Hills and New York

US-MALAYSIA-BRIBERY-CORRUPTION-1MDB-GOLDMAN
Yuri Gripas/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images

The international investment bank Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $2.9 billion and admit wrongdoing for its involvement in the plundering of an economic development fund meant to benefit Malaysia, under the terms of a settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department.

Instead of helping develop Malaysia's economy, the fund's overseers embezzled roughly $4 billion and bought real estate in Beverly Hills and New York, yachts, a jet and works by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, prosecutors said.

Some of the money, they said, was used to cover gambling debts at Las Vegas casinos and to help finance the hit movie, "The Wolf of Wall Street."

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

Contact Us