The Malaysian unit of global financial titan Goldman Sachs pleaded guilty in a US court on Thursday in the massive 1MDB Malaysian bribery scandal. The plea in federal court for violations of US bribery law comes as part of a deal to end the criminal probe into the corruption case involving the Malaysian government's investment fund, and allows the parent company to avoid pleading guilty -- which would have damaged its ability to do business. Goldman Sachs helped raise $6.5 billion for the sovereign wealth fund, and the US Justice Department has said more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by high-level officials at the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2015. hs/dw