KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani has strongly criticized the two-year prison sentence handed to former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, calling it "far too lenient" for his central role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption scandal.

The minister, who also chairs Malaysia's 1MDB asset recovery taskforce, argued that Leissner deserved the maximum possible punishment as one of the key architects behind what became one of history's largest financial frauds. "Considering he is one of the masterminds facilitating the 1MDB scandal," Ghani stated on Friday (May 30), "the sentence fails to reflect the gravity of his crimes."

The rebuke comes after a New York court sentenced Leissner on Thursday to just two years imprisonment. The former Southeast Asia chairman for Goldman Sachs had played a pivotal role in diverting billions from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund through complex financial schemes between 2009-2014.

Legal experts note this case represents just one chapter in the sprawling international investigation into how over $4.5 billion was allegedly stolen from 1MDB - funds that financed luxury real estate, Hollywood films, and even a superyacht before global authorities began recovering assets.