KUALA LUMPUR • The Malaysian police yesterday filed criminal charges against Low Taek Jho and his father over money allegedly stolen from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), reported The Edge.
Citing legal sources, the business publication reported that the charges against Low - also known as Jho Low - and his father Larry Low Hock Peng relate to the laundering of US$457 million (S$625 million) in cash transfers between 2013 and 2014.
The court papers were registered with the Sessions Court in Putrajaya yesterday morning and arrest warrants for both men were also sought. "Warrants of arrest for both of them were issued by the court," national police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement yesterday.
According to The Edge, the criminal charges pave the way for the Malaysian authorities to seek an extradition of the two men, believed to be in China or Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
"With the registration of the charges, the next step is to seek an extradition," a legal source told the publication.
Low, 36, an associate of former prime minister Najib Razak and his family, has denied any wrongdoing relating to the corruption scandal at 1MDB, saying he was an informal consultant at the fund.
"Mr Low is conferring with his lawyers regarding what legal action he can take to address this latest political reprisal, but he stands by his earlier statements," his spokesman said in a statement issued yesterday.
"He will not submit to any jurisdiction where guilt has been predetermined by politics and self-interest overrules legal process."
The United States Department of Justice has, in its civil suits to seize luxury assets bought with stolen 1MDB funds, alleged that Low was the mastermind behind the misappropriation of more than US$4.5 billion from 1MDB between 2009 and 2014.
According to court documents seen by The Edge, Low faces eight charges under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. Three of the charges are for receiving money and the remaining five are for transferring the cash. His father Larry, 66, faces one charge of transferring US$56 million to his son.
The total sum involved comprises around US$261 million for receipt of monies and US$196 million for transferring cash - all transacted through accounts at BSI Bank in Singapore from December 2013 to June 2014.
Part of the money was believed to have been used to purchase the Equanimity, the US$250 million superyacht seized by the Malaysian authorities on Aug 6.
The Malaysian government and 1MDB yesterday obtained a court order to sell the vessel through an open tender or a private treaty by the sheriff of the Kuala Lumpur Admiralty Court. Proceeds from the sale will be paid to the court and kept in a bank account in Malaysia approved by the Accountant-General.
The Singapore authorities have jailed a few bankers and closed two banks - BSI and Falcon - that had Low as their client. The authorities in Switzerland have also acted against the two banks and are probing several individuals they said were involved in the fraud.
