Every Major Goldman Sachs Lawsuit Settlement to Date

Over the past two decades, Goldman Sachs lawsuit settlements have added up to well over $10 billion, resolving claims that range from foreign bribery and mortgage fraud to gender discrimination, benchmark manipulation, and credit card servicing failures. The largest are the $5.06 billion residential mortgage-backed securities settlement with the Department of Justice in 2016, the $2.9 billion foreign bribery resolution over the 1MDB scandal in 2020, a $3.15 billion mortgage buyback with the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2014, a $550 million SEC penalty in the Abacus CDO case in 2010, and, most recently, a $500 million shareholder class action settlement tied to 1MDB filed in May 2026.

1MDB Shareholder Class Action ($500 Million, 2026)

On May 20, 2026, Goldman and lead plaintiff Sjunde AP-Fonden, a Swedish pension fund, asked a federal judge to preliminarily approve a $500 million settlement in Sjunde AP-Fonden v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., filed in the Southern District of New York.¹ The case had been pending for eight years.²

Shareholders alleged that Goldman and former CEO Lloyd Blankfein misled investors about the bank’s role in the 1MDB corruption scandal between February 28, 2014, and December 20, 2018. According to the complaint, as press reports about the scandal surfaced, Goldman denied knowing about red flags, downplayed the involvement of Malaysian financier Jho Low, and touted the strength of its compliance controls while the three bond deals it underwrote for 1MDB functioned, plaintiffs said, as shells used to launder money.³

U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick certified the shareholder class on September 4, 2025. The parties reached a settlement in principle in April 2026, and the $500 million figure became public with the May filing. The settlement still needs court approval, and no claims process has been announced yet.²

1MDB Foreign Bribery Resolution ($2.9 Billion, 2020)

The shareholder case grew out of a much larger criminal matter. Between 2012 and 2013, Goldman underwrote three bond offerings for 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, raising $6.5 billion and earning roughly $606 million in fees, more than 100 times the customary rate for comparable deals.⁴ Investigators later determined that about $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund through a bribery ring involving Malaysian officials and Jho Low.⁵

In October 2020, Goldman’s Malaysian subsidiary pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the parent company entered a deferred prosecution agreement. The combined resolution across U.S., U.K., Singapore, and other authorities exceeded $2.9 billion, which the Department of Justice called the largest FCPA penalty ever at the time.⁴ Individual regulator components included $400 million to the SEC, $154 million to the Federal Reserve, and $150 million to the New York Department of Financial Services. The Fed also issued lifetime industry bans against former employees Tim Leissner, Roger Ng, and Andrea Vella.⁵

Separately, Goldman agreed to pay Malaysia $2.5 billion and to help recover $1.4 billion in losses in exchange for that country dropping its criminal charges. The DOJ deferred prosecution agreement expired on October 21, 2023, and prosecutors moved to dismiss the criminal information against the parent company with prejudice on April 26, 2024.⁶

Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities ($5.06 Billion, 2016)

Goldman’s largest single settlement resolved allegations that it misled investors when packaging and selling residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007. Announced in April 2016, the $5.06 billion agreement broke down into a $2.385 billion civil penalty, $1.8 billion in consumer relief including loan forgiveness and affordable housing financing, and $875 million to resolve claims by the National Credit Union Administration, the attorneys general of New York, Illinois, and California, and two Federal Home Loan Banks.⁷

Goldman acknowledged in a detailed statement of facts that it had made false and misleading representations about loan quality. Its own due diligence had flagged “unusually high” defect rates and “extremely aggressive underwriting” in the loan pools, yet the bank’s Mortgage Capital Committee approved every securitization presented to it during the period and continued issuing deals into early 2007. The agreement preserved the government’s ability to bring future criminal charges and released no individuals.⁸

FHFA Mortgage Bond Settlement ($3.15 Billion, 2014)

Two years earlier, on August 22, 2014, Goldman resolved separate mortgage claims brought in 2011 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHFA alleged that Goldman sold low-quality private-label mortgage-backed securities to the two housing giants between 2005 and 2007 while concealing its own dim view of the subprime market.⁹

Goldman agreed to buy back $3.15 billion in mortgage bonds, split roughly $2.15 billion to Freddie Mac and $1 billion to Fannie Mae. FHFA estimated the buyback cost exceeded the bonds’ current market value by about $1.2 billion. No additional penalties were imposed.¹⁰

Abacus CDO Fraud ($550 Million, 2010)

In April 2010, the SEC charged Goldman and vice president Fabrice Tourre with securities fraud over a synthetic collateralized debt obligation called ABACUS 2007-AC1. According to the SEC, Goldman let the hedge fund Paulson & Co. help select the mortgage-backed securities underlying the CDO while marketing the product as if a neutral third party, ACA Management, had chosen the portfolio. Paulson then bet against it. Investors lost more than $1 billion; Paulson made roughly the same amount.¹¹

Goldman settled in July 2010 for $550 million, the largest penalty against a financial services firm at the time. Of that, $250 million funded investor compensation and $300 million went to the U.S. Treasury. Goldman did not admit or deny the charges but did acknowledge that its marketing materials were incomplete because they failed to disclose Paulson’s role and adverse economic interest. The bank also accepted a permanent injunction and reforms to how it reviews mortgage-related marketing.¹²

Chen-Oster Gender Discrimination Class Action ($215 Million, 2023)

After thirteen years of litigation, nearly 3,000 current and former female associates and vice presidents reached a $215 million settlement with Goldman over pay and promotion discrimination. Chen-Oster v. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC was filed in 2010 and alleged that Goldman’s “360 review” and “quartiling” evaluation systems, though facially neutral, consistently placed women in lower performance rankings than men, affecting pay, raises, and promotions dating back to 2002.¹³

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres granted final approval on November 7, 2023.¹⁴ Beyond the payout, Goldman agreed to overhaul the 360-degree review and quartiling processes, retain independent consultants to review the revised procedures, conduct annual pay equity analyses for three years, and improve communication with employees about promotion requirements.¹⁵

ISDAFIX Benchmark Manipulation ($120 Million, 2016)

In December 2016, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Goldman to pay $120 million for attempting to manipulate the USD ISDAFIX, a benchmark used across derivatives markets. From January 2007 through March 2012, Goldman traders executed trades at the 11:00 a.m. daily “fix” to move the reference rate in their favor and submitted false data that did not reflect the bank’s actual bids or offers for swaps. Internal chats showed traders describing the conduct as “gaming the fix.”¹⁶ Goldman settled without admitting or denying the allegations and agreed to enhanced internal controls.¹⁷

Foreign Exchange Trading Penalty ($54.75 Million, 2018)

On May 1, 2018, the Federal Reserve Board and the New York Department of Financial Services jointly penalized Goldman $54.75 million for unsafe and unsound practices in its FX business. Regulators found that between 2008 and early 2013, Goldman’s FX traders used electronic chatrooms to share confidential customer information with competitors and discussed coordinating trades around benchmark fixes, sometimes at customer expense. The bank was also faulted for failing to escalate compliance concerns.¹⁸ Under the consent order, Goldman had to submit enhanced compliance and internal audit plans.¹⁹

Research Analyst Conflicts ($110 Million, 2003)

In April 2003, Goldman resolved its share of the global research analyst settlement negotiated by the SEC, NASD, NYSE, the New York Attorney General, and other state regulators. Investigators found that between July 1999 and June 2001, Goldman failed to prevent its investment banking arm from improperly influencing research analysts, whose pay depended in part on banking activity. Goldman’s $110 million share consisted of $25 million in disgorgement, $25 million in penalties, $50 million for independent research over five years, and $10 million for investor education. Goldman did not admit or deny the allegations and agreed to structural reforms separating research from investment banking.²⁰

Apple Card Enforcement ($89 Million Combined, 2024)

In October 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against Goldman and Apple over the Apple Card, which launched in 2019. The CFPB found that Goldman frequently failed to properly investigate billing disputes, leaving cardholders responsible for unfair charges and, in some cases, damaging their credit reports. It also found that customers who expected automatic enrollment in interest-free financing for Apple device purchases were instead charged interest. Goldman paid $45 million in penalties and $20 million in consumer restitution; Apple was fined $25 million. The CFPB also prohibited Goldman from launching new credit card products without first submitting a compliance plan.²¹

Archegos Capital Litigation (2024–2025)

The March 2021 collapse of Bill Hwang’s $36 billion Archegos Capital Management produced several lawsuits against Goldman and other banks. Former ViacomCBS shareholders alleged the banks hid conflicts of interest, and in July 2025, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo agreed to pay a combined $120 million to settle those claims. Seven separate suits accusing the banks of market manipulation and insider trading were dismissed with prejudice by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in March 2024, and the Second Circuit upheld those dismissals in September 2025, holding that the banks were not liable because Archegos was not a corporate insider owing fiduciary duties to the companies whose stocks it held.²²

1
KTMC. KTMC Secures $500M Goldman Sachs Settlement in 1MDB Fraud Case
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Banking Dive. Goldman Sachs to Pay Shareholders $500 Million in 1MDB Settlement
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KTMC. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
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U.S. Department of Justice. Goldman Sachs Resolves Foreign Bribery Case and Agrees to Pay Over $2.9 Billion
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ACAMS. Goldman Sachs 1MDB Settlement Exposes Rift Between Business and Compliance
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Miller & Chevalier. FCPA Review: U.S. v. Goldman Sachs Motion to Dismiss
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Reuters. Goldman Sachs to Pay $5 Billion in Mortgage Bond Pact
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U.S. Department of Justice. Goldman Sachs Agrees to Pay More Than $5 Billion in Connection With Its Sale of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
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The New York Times DealBook. Goldman to Pay $3.15 Billion to Settle Mortgage Claims
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Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA Announces Settlement With Goldman Sachs
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SEC. SEC Charges Goldman Sachs With Fraud in Structuring and Marketing of CDO Tied to Subprime Mortgages
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SEC. SEC Litigation Release No. 21592
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Lieff Cabraser. Court Grants Final Approval to Historic $215 Million Settlement
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Outten & Golden. Final Court Approval Granted in Historic $215 Million Goldman Sachs Gender Discrimination Settlement
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Outten & Golden. Chen-Oster v. Goldman Sachs & Co.
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CFTC. CFTC Orders Goldman Sachs to Pay $120 Million Penalty for Attempted Manipulation of USD ISDAFIX
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Reuters. Goldman Sachs to Pay $120 Million Over Attempted ISDAFIX Benchmark Manipulation
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New York DFS. DFS Fines Goldman Sachs $54.75 Million
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Federal Reserve. Federal Reserve Board Announces $54.75 Million Fine Against Goldman Sachs
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SEC. SEC Litigation Release No. 18113
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NPR. Apple, Goldman Sachs Fined Over Apple Card
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Reuters. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Defeat Archegos Investors’ Insider Trading Appeals