New York (CNN Business) Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon offered a strong defense of the bank's culture Friday as the company fights a crisis over its role in Malaysia's multi-billion dollar embezzlement scandal.

"While we understand the anger and skepticism, we do not believe that the criticism directed at us accurately reflects who we were then or who we are now," Solomon said in an end-of-the-year message to the firm's employees.

He continued: "We believe our culture and our processes around our due diligence and compliance was strong at the time, and is even stronger today."

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) faces lawsuits and investigations tied to its role in raising money for Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

The Justice Department claims that conspirators misappropriated $4.5 billion from 1MDB, and has zeroed in on Goldman's role in the scheme.

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