KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is negotiating with other countries to expedite fugitive financier Low Taek Jho’s return to the South-east Asian nation so he may face criminal charges for his role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday that other nations were cooperating with Malaysia’s efforts to track Low, a process he described as complicated.
“It involves other countries, it involves intelligence services, Interpol,” Datuk Seri Anwar told reporters after attending an event in Kuala Lumpur. He did not reveal the countries involved in the talks, or confirm Low’s whereabouts.
Better known as Jho Low, the businessman was first charged in absentia in 2018 by a Malaysian court with eight counts of money laundering and issued a warrant of arrest.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has accused Low of stealing US$1.42 billion (S$1.88 billion) from three bond transactions that Goldman Sachs Group arranged for the Malaysian wealth fund.
A separate Malaysian court in 2020 said Low played a crucial role in transferring RM42 million (S$12.5 million) from a former 1MDB unit to former prime minister Najib Razak’s accounts. Najib is now serving a 12-year prison sentence for his crimes related to 1MDB, and faces several other trials.
Mr Anwar on Friday reiterated his government’s commitment to bring back Low.
“That has been the position and we have been very tough from day one,” he said.
In 2020, the financier had struck a deal with US prosecutors to recoup almost US$700 million worth of assets, including a Beverly Hills hotel and real estate in New York and London. That is in addition to US$260 million of assets, including a US$126 million super yacht, seized earlier on Malaysia’s behalf.
Meanwhile, one of Low’s aides who was suspected of receiving money misappropriated from 1MDB and SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB, was repatriated to Malaysia from an undisclosed location.
The move was a result of cooperation between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and law enforcement agencies from abroad.
Sources revealed that the individual, who was not named, arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) at 3.30am on Wednesday.
“Upon arriving at KLIA2, the individual, who had been missing since 2018, was then handed a notice ordering him to appear at the MACC headquarters at Putrajaya at 10am on Thursday.
“MACC officers recorded his statement and his house was searched on the same day,” the source said.
The source also revealed that the individual was believed to have received money originating from funds misappropriated from 1MDB and SRC through the bank account of a company known as Wright Shaw.
Previously, MACC, in collaboration with Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Departments (CAD), had successfully seized the bank account belonging to Wright Shaw amounting to about US$5.2 million.
“The investigation also proved that he had received money from the misappropriation of 1MDB funds through Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M),” the source said, referring to a charity foundation under Najib.
Separately, MACC said on April 26 it had, with CAD Singapore’s cooperation, successfully brought home an estimated RM16 million from Totality Limited.
Totality was a company owned by 1MDB’s former business development executive director, Tang Keng Chee or Casey Tang.
The source said Tang conspired to mislead banks and hide certain facts from 1MDB’s board of directors in order to transfer US$700 million to Good Star, a company allegedly owned by Low.
MACC had issued an arrest warrant dated June 29, 2018 against Tang, who remains untraceable.
The source said Tang is wanted for alleged offences under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009, read together with Section 28 of the same Act.
MACC’s chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed the matter and said it is now trying to bring back more assets from the individuals involved in Singapore.
“MACC has so far managed to recover about 70 per cent of 1MDB’s assets worth about RM28.3 billion,” he said. BLOOMBERG, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
