This was made clear in former Goldman Sachs executive Tim Leissner’s testimony at a Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York yesterday.

Leissner is the star witness in the bribery trial of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker, in relation to the 1MDB scandal.

According to court documents sighted by FMT, Leissner said Low was an adviser to the Sultan of Terengganu in 2009.

He said, however, that Low, the alleged mastermind of the 1MDB scandal, was more than just an adviser and was involved in making key decisions in TIA.

Previously, in his 1MDB trial, former prime minister Najib Razak had told a Malaysian court he had been made to understand that Terengganu ruler Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2009, had appointed Low as adviser to TIA.

Najib was also reported to have said that the TIA board of directors was largely retained when it was taken over by the federal government and renamed 1MDB as they had experience serving in other government-linked companies (GLCs).

Leissner also revealed how Low was instrumental in getting Goldman Sachs involved in TIA.

He said it was Low who approached Goldman Sachs to work with TIA.

“We had heard about TIA being established before from our own sources, but this was the first time that we actually understood that we might be able to work on the setup of the TIA.

“And he (Low) very quickly became engaged with Goldman Sachs through Roger to work on the transaction and actually pitch (for it).

“We actually had to win this piece of business. It was not our business at this point of time, but Low took every step to help us, to guide us, to the eventual mandate, that is to work on the setup.”