Banker-Turned-Scammer Tim Leissner Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Role in 1MDB Billion-Dollar Heist
From Wall Street power player to white-collar cautionary tale, Tim Leissner’s globe-trotting, scandal-drenched saga is finally catching up with him. The former Goldman Sachs banker—who helped mastermind the jaw-dropping 1MDB scandal—was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison, putting a dramatic punctuation mark on one of the wildest financial frauds in modern history.
Yes, that 1MDB—the one involving billions of dollars, high-level bribery, luxury real estate, and even financing for The Wolf of Wall Street. If it sounds like a movie, that’s because it partially became one.
The Billion-Dollar Breakdown
Leissner, once the Southeast Asia chairman for Goldman Sachs, pleaded guilty way back in 2018 to conspiring to launder money and violate anti-bribery laws. Fast-forward to 2025, and his day of reckoning finally arrived in a Brooklyn federal courtroom, where Judge Margo Brodie handed down his sentence: 24 months behind bars, plus the minor inconvenience of having to start serving time on September 15.
And while that’s far from the 25 years he could’ve gotten, Judge Brodie made it clear that Leissner’s cooperation only went so far.
“Your cooperation did not completely make up for the harm and devastation you knowingly caused,” she said, not mincing words.
Leissner admitted he helped funnel over $2.7 billion out of Malaysia’s 1MDB fund with the help of now-convicted colleague Roger Ng and international party-boy-turned-fugitive Jho Low. Together, the trio pulled off a scheme so audacious, it made the Panama Papers look like amateur hour.
Where Did the Money Go? Oh, Everywhere
That cash didn’t just sit in offshore accounts. It was used to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, buy luxury mansions, invest in fine art, fund extravagant yacht parties, and—just to make things extra cinematic—finance the actual Hollywood hit “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Yes, Leissner literally helped fund a movie about financial crimes by committing financial crimes. Art imitating life, or the world’s most expensive case of irony? You decide.
Kickbacks, Fake Emails, and a Fashion Mogul Wife
Leissner also got personally rich in the process—$50 million in kickbacks, to be exact. But as it turns out, his double life didn’t stop at money laundering. The disgraced banker also admitted to creating fake email accounts, forging documents, and even lying to his wife, model-turned-entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons, about still being married to someone else when they got together. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
The couple’s relationship—once a tabloid dream pairing of finance and fashion—has since unraveled. Simmons has been involved in lawsuits trying to distance herself from Leissner’s shady finances, especially when it came to investments tied to the scandal.
Falling from the Top
Leissner’s defense? He argued that he’s already lost everything—his career, reputation, marriage, and meaningful time with his kids. In a heartfelt (but not exactly tear-inducing) letter to the court, he pleaded to avoid prison time altogether.
The court said: Thanks for playing, but no.
Leissner’s sentence comes after years of international investigations and massive fines for Goldman Sachs, which coughed up over $5 billion in penalties and settlement fees related to the scandal. For a bank that once prided itself on elite discretion, the whole thing was a reputation nightmare.
What’s Next?
With Leissner headed to prison and Roger Ng already convicted, only one major player remains on the run: Jho Low, who’s still out there somewhere, reportedly living lavishly under various aliases. The FBI and Malaysian officials continue to chase him, but so far, no cigar.
As for Leissner, he’ll be trading luxury real estate for a far less glamorous federal facility this fall. Consider it the final chapter—for now—in one of the most audacious financial thrillers of our time.