U.S. law enforcement officials are attempting to identify whether Goldman Sachs Group violated federal law after failing to flag a transaction in Malaysia, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people it said were familiar with the investigation.
The probe concerns $3 billion raised by Goldman Sachs (GS) through a bond issue for Malaysian state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The focal point is whether the bank complied with the Bank Secrecy Act, the main U.S. anti-money laundering law.
Half of the proceeds from the sale, which were transferred by Goldman Sachs to a Swiss bank account controlled by 1MDB, disappeared with some ending up in the Malaysian prime minister’s bank account, the report said, citing people described as familiar with the matter and bank-transfer information viewed by the Wall Street Journal.
The investigators believe that Goldman Sachs may have had grounds to believe that the money was not used for its intended purpose, the report said. The bank has not been accused of wrongdoing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The bank and the U.S. Justice Department were not immediately available for comment.