On September 4, 2025, U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick of the Southern District of New York issued a 35-page opinion adopting the 2024 Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker recommending certification of the shareholder class in Sjunde AP-Fonden v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., No. 18-cv-12084. This long-running securities fraud case arises out of Goldman Sachs’ role in the 1MDB Malaysian sovereign wealth fund corruption and money laundering scandal, one of the largest financial frauds in recent memory. The court’s decision follows a full-day evidentiary hearing and oral argument held in February 2024.
In granting Lead Plaintiff Sjunde AP-Fonden’s (AP7) motion for class certification, Judge Broderick held that Goldman failed to prove a lack of price impact and rebut the presumption of class-wide reliance under the standards articulated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. v. Goldman Sachs Grp., Inc., 77 F. 4th 74 (2d Cir. 2023). The District Court’s adoption of Judge Parker’s Report and Recommendation is significant as the Report was the first judicial decision in the Second Circuit to certify or recommend certification of a Section 10(b) plaintiff class under the Arkansas Teacher framework.
The Kessler Topaz team representing AP7 and the class includes Andrew Zivitz, Matthew Mustokoff, Johnston Whitman Jr., Jamie McCall, David Bocian, Nathan Hasiuk, Vanessa Milan, and Nathaniel Simon.