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Omicron as severe as previous Covid-19 variants, large study finds

A sign requiring masks is seen outside of a closed-down business during the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in Washington, US, on Dec 27, 2021.

PHOTO: Reuters

PUBLISHED ONMay 05, 2022 6:34 AM

The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus is intrinsically as severe as previous variants, unlike assumptions made in previous studies that it was more transmissible but less severe, a large study in the US has found.

"We found that the risks of hospitalization and mortality were nearly identical between periods," said four scientists who conducted the study based on records of 130,000 Covid-19 patients, referring to times in the past two years when different variants were dominant across the world.

The study, which is undergoing peer review at Nature Portfolio and was posted on Research Square on May 2, was adjusted for confounders including demographics, vaccination status, and the Charlson comorbidity index that predicts the risk of death within a year of hospitalization for patients with specific comorbid conditions.

The studies that assumed that the Omicron variant was less severe were conducted in various places including South Africa, Scotland, England, and Canada said the scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital, Minerva University and Harvard Medical School.

They said their study could have several limitations, including the possibility that it underestimated the number of vaccinated patients in more recent Covid waves, and the total number of infections because it excluded patients who performed at-home rapid tests.

ALSO READ: 2 local Covid-19 cases infected with new Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 that's known to be 'more transmissible'

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Ex-Goldman banker Leissner sentenced to 2 years in prison in 1MDB case

A construction worker talks on the phone in front of a 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) billboard at the Tun Razak Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb 3, 2016.

PHOTO: Reuters file

PUBLISHED ONMay 30, 2025 4:10 AM

NEW YORK — Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge in a New York court on Thursday (May 30) after playing a key role in a multi-billion dollar scandal involving Malaysia's sovereign fund 1MDB.

Malaysian and US authorities estimated US$4.5 billion (S$5.8 billion) was stolen from 1MDB in an elaborate scheme that spanned the globe and implicated high-level officials in the fund, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman executives and others.

Leissner, a former Southeast Asia chairman for Goldman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to a conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and participating in a money laundering conspiracy, all tied to his role in the 1MDB scandal.

Leissner's conduct was "brazen and audacious", judge Margo Brodie said during sentencing. While his co-operation with the government was taken into account, it did not make up for the harm caused by the corruption at the highest levels in several countries, the judge said.

"First and foremost, I offer my sincere apology to the people of Malaysia," Leissner, 55, told the hearing, his voice breaking as he read a statement. "I deeply regret my actions."

Goldman helped sell US$6.5 billion of bonds for 1MDB, which former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib set up with the help of Low to promote economic development.

Some of the funds were diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies linked to Malaysian financier Jho Low, who is now a fugitive.

Leissner became a US government witness in the case after his arrest in 2018. He was allowed to remain free after he agreed to help the government in the investigation and testified against former banking colleague Roger Ng.

Ng has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-bribery law. The former head of investment banking for Goldman in Malaysia was convicted in Brooklyn and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but transported to Malaysia in 2023 to assist probes there.

Leissner met with the government on dozens of occasions, reviewing countless documents and communications he received related to the 1MDB scheme and other matters, according to a filing by prosecutors.

"We respect the court's decision today and Mr Leissner is prepared to serve his sentence and continue his future life of good works and care for his family," said his lawyer Henry Mazurek, a partner at Meister Seelig & Fein PLLC.

Prosecutors requested the court impose a sentence below the applicable guidelines range due to Leissner's co-operation in the probe.

Only criminal case against Goldman

Leissner told the court that he had lost his freedom, family and financial independence in the wake of the scandal. The former executive said his health also suffered, and that he took pills and lost the will to live.

Goldman said in a letter to the court on May 21 that Leissner deceived his colleagues for years, culminating in the only criminal case filed against Goldman in its 156-year history.

Goldman in 2020 paid a record US$2.9 billion fine in the United States and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in US court. It also clawed back US$174 million in executive compensation.

Malaysia's former prime minister Najib was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from a unit of state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Malaysia's top court in 2022 upheld a guilty verdict against Najib, sentencing him to 12 years in prison. The sentence was later halved by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia's former king.

The former premier is currently in prison and is pursuing a legal bid to compel authorities to entitle him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.