Former chief Lloyd Blankfein pulled into Goldman Sachs and 1MDB scandal

Former Goldman Sachs chairman and chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, was on Friday dragged into the ever-growing storm over the 1MDB fund as it emerged he had a meeting with one of the main alleged protagonists.

US authorities claim $4.5 billion was laundered from 1MDB, a Malaysian government state fund, set up with the aim of improving the economy. Instead, it has become the centre of a widespread probe.

An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund this week sued Goldman, alleging a conspiracy between the bank and other partners to defraud investors.

A spokesperson for Goldman said: “We are in the process of assessing the details of allegations and fully expect to contest the claim vigorously.”

The bank has admitted Blankfein had a meeting in 2012 at which Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, the man at the centre of the probe, was present.

Goldman says this was not a one-on-one with Taek Jho as reports had suggested, but with a client called Aabar, also defendants in lawsuits. The investment bank helped Malaysia raise money for the fund. US prosecutors allege officials moved some of those monies into personal accounts.

Goldman Sachs was paid a huge fee — $593 million — for its work on 1MDB.