Malaysia PM Anwar says fugitive financier Jho Low’s US pardon bid a ‘non-issue’

SEREMBAN – Malaysia will not oppose a bid by a fugitive businessman involved in the massive 1MDB corruption scandal to seek a pardon from US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on May 15.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Seremban, south of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Anwar described the bid by Low Taek Jho as a “non-issue”.

The businessman, better known as Jho Low, is formally seeking a “pardon after completion of sentence”, according to the US Department of Justice website.

Whistleblowers allege that Low, a well-connected Malaysian financier with no official role, helped set up the 1MDB state investment fund and made key financial decisions before disappearing about a decade ago.

Low, who has been indicted in the United States, has denied wrongdoing and remains at large.

“As far as we are concerned, we are not going in that route,” Mr Anwar said when asked if the government will formally oppose Low’s pardon bid.

“Even if he has submitted, it is not an issue that we should discuss because he is still undergoing this process in courts.”

Malaysia’s Trade Minister Johari Abdul Ghani, who chairs a task force seeking to recover assets linked to 1MDB worldwide, said on May 13 that the pardon bid should be rejected and Low returned for trial.

The 1MDB fund was launched by former prime minister Najib Razak in 2009, shortly after he became premier.

It is alleged that more than US$4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by fund officials and associates, including Low.

Najib, who has been convicted in multiple cases, has been jailed and fined US$2.8 billion (S$3.6 billion) for his role in the plunder.

Najib’s defence lawyers blamed Low and dubbed him the mastermind of the scheme.

Malaysia unsuccessfully sought the return of Low through extradition and it was widely speculated in media that he was hiding in China.

The scandal shook Malaysian politics, contributing to the 2018 downfall of the ruling coalition that had governed since independence in 1957 and leading to the convictions of two former Goldman Sachs bankers.

Investigators said top officials used their ill-gotten gains to splurge on assets worldwide, including a luxury yacht, high-end real estate as well as Monet and Van Gogh paintings, and even to fund Hollywood blockbuster The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013), which was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

DiCaprio testified in court about Low’s wild spending sprees and lavish parties. AFP