Goldman Sachs Group Inc., pilloried after the 2008 financial crisis, just saw a decade of image repair tarnished as prosecutors and regulators around the world unleashed accusations and punishments against the bank after a yearslong probe into the plundering of Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund.
Goldman’s costs from the scandal hurtled beyond $5 billion (¥523.6 billion) Thursday, while a subsidiary pleaded guilty to a U.S. criminal charge for the first time in the firm’s history. The parent company entered a deal to spare itself a conviction that could cripple business, by promising to behave.
In a rare rebuke, Goldman will also force Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and predecessor Lloyd Blankfein to give up pay, attaching personal accountability to two of the industry’s most visible leaders for a scandal spanning the globe.