In a statement, the bank said that settlement talks are ongoing and it continues to cooperate with regulators.

The SEC and the US Justice Department declined to comment. Representatives for the other regulators did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A settlement could be announced in late January, sources familiar with negotiations said.

The government of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak set up the 1MDB fund in 2009, and the US Justice Department estimated $US4.5 billion ($6.5 billion) was misappropriated by high-level fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014.

Goldman has been investigated by regulators in at least 14 countries, including the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and others, for its underwriting role and what it did and did not know at the time of the transactions.

In November 2018, the US Justice Department filed criminal charges against two former Goldman Sachs bankers tied to the scandal, Tim Leissner and Roger Ng.

According to the US Justice Department, Goldman earned $US600 million in fees for its work with 1MDB. Leissner, Ng and others received large bonuses in connection with that revenue.

The bank has consistently tried to distance itself from the scandal, saying Leissner and Ng worked to conceal their criminal activities from bank management.

Leissner pleaded guilty to the charges last year. Ng pleaded not guilty to charges in May, and his case is currently pending in federal court in Brooklyn.