Goldman Sachs Group Inc and two former top executives were ordered by a US judge on Monday to face a lawsuit accusing them of misleading shareholders about the bank's work for 1MDB, a Malaysian fund that became embroiled in a corruption scandal.

US district judge Vernon Broderick in Manhattan said shareholders in the proposed class action adequately alleged that several statements by Goldman, former chief executive Lloyd Blankfein (above, left) and former chief operating officer Gary Cohn about 1MDB and Goldman's ethics were false and misleading.

Shareholders led by Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden claimed...