1MDB Banker Got a ‘Bad Karma’ Warning Before Scandal Exploded

Patricia Hurtado and Francesca Maglione, Bloomberg News

Roger Ng, a former banker for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., left, exits from federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Monday, May 6, 2019. Ng is in plea talks to avoid a U.S. trial on charges that he broke American anti-bribery laws and conspired to launder money embezzled from Malaysia's state investment fund 1MDB. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- The wife of the former Goldman Sachs banker on trial over the 1MDB scandal told the jury her feng shui master warned her husband’s boss of “bad karma” -- a prediction that seems to have come true.

Hwee Bin Lim, the wife of ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Roger Ng, was testifying for Ng on Tuesday as he stands charged with conspiracy in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd. Lim told the jurors that she and Ng arranged for feng shui readings with a “Master Pang” for Ng’s boss, Tim Leissner, in 2015 and 2016.

Leissner, who pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the U.S. against Ng, has testified that the master told him a “female” would “be helpful to him in the future.” He said that when he met with Lim and Ng to discuss one of the feng shui readings, the three agreed to give authorities a “cover story” for a $35 million kickback for Ng.

Read More: 1MDB Banker Told by Feng Shui Master That Trouble Lay Ahead

But on Tuesday, Lim told the federal panel in Brooklyn, New York, that the female in question was Leissner’s daughter. She said the meeting was just to discuss the reading.

Feng shui is a common practice in Asia used to read favorable and unfavorable signs and energy flows. Lim told the jury she and her husband consulted the master annually ahead of the Lunar New Year and whenever they were looking for a new home or office.

“Don’t cause bad karma,” Lim said Master Pang warned Leissner. “Whatever bad is coming is coming out of your mouth.”