Goldman's 1MBD Role Probed by FBI, Justice Department, WSJ Says.

Investigators at the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department have begun examining the role of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in a series of transactions at 1Malaysia Development Bhd., the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The inquiries are at the information-gathering stage, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Goldman Sachs, the people said, according to the newspaper. They are part of a broad probe into allegations of money laundering and corruption at the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, the WSJ said. Eddie Naylor, a spokesman at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, declined to comment on the report.

Investigators “have yet to determine if the matter will become a focus of any investigations into the 1MDB scandal,” the newspaper quoted an FBI spokeswoman as saying.

1MDB is at the center of various probes into allegations of financial irregularities. The fund’s advisory board is chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is facing a funding scandal over money that allegedly showed up in his personal bank accounts before the last Malaysian election in 2013.

(Corrects spelling of 1MDB in headline.)

Source:Bloomberg