Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho calls Hong Kong home these days. His investment consultancy Jynwell Capital is based there and he lives in the Mid-Levels enclave of the well-heeled.
But of late, Malaysia is very much on his mind as speculation swirls over how big a role he played in the troubles besetting 1Malaysia Development (1MDB), the state-owned investment agency.
In response to the many questions that have arisen in the media and Parliament, Mr Low, better known as Jho Low, has given two interviews in the past week dealing with the accusations as well as his friendship with the Malaysian Prime Minister's stepson.
In his interview with the South China Morning Post, he rejected all allegations of money laundering and fraud, saying: "I feel I'm a victim of the crossfire of Malaysian politics."
And in his CNBC interview, he described as "spurious, irresponsible innuendoes and truly unsubstantiated" the allegations that he had cheated 1MDB of millions based on inferences drawn from an e-mail trail furnished by the whistle-blower website, Sarawak Report.
The website alleged that Mr Low had benefited from irregularities in a complex financial deal in 2009 between 1MDB and the Saudi Arabian energy company PetroSaudi.
Mr Low, 34, told CNBC he was targeted because of his friendship with Mr Riza Aziz, the stepson of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
In the SCMP interview, he said he has known Mr Riza for 16 years, since their schooldays in Britain. "Through Riza, I met his parents," he said.
Mr Low's spokesman denied allegations that he has acted as a business front man for Datuk Seri Najib or his wife, and insisted that his dealings with Mr Riza were limited to real estate transactions conducted "at arm's length fair market value".
The spokesman also confirmed reports that Mr Low's family had bought real estate in New York and Los Angeles for some US$42 million (S$58 million), and later sold it to Mr Riza for a profit, said SCMP.
Mr Riza is chairman of Red Granite Pictures, a US film company that produced The Wolf Of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Mr Low said it was he who introduced the actor to Red Granite Pictures.
Mr Low's champagne-fuelled parties with celebrities were once fodder for the New York tabloids. He said he has sobered up since.
"I feel like I'm an easy target and victim perhaps because of my age and unfortunately, from the things done in my early years, the partying where I was having a bit too much fun," he said, adding that he had been "lectured" by his father and grandfather.
His grandfather made his fortune in liquor and mining while his father made money from real estate. Mr Low insisted that neither he nor his family had ever been party to unethical transactions involving the Malaysian government.
Mr Low also said he made his own money early on in his investing career. In 2009, he made US$116 million by selling off real estate investments in the Iskandar project in Johor, his spokesman told SCMP.
In 2010, Mr Low moved to Hong Kong.
Critics say he is the mastermind behind 1MDB, although he has no official position in the company, which has RM42 billion (S$15.8 billion) of debt.
Mr Low has denied the accusation and said he is happy to cooperate in any investigation. "I'm not hired by 1MDB and I don't get paid any fees by 1MDB," he told SCMP. "If someone in 1MDB asked me for my views informally, I will give my views, like any other Malaysian.
"So why politicise and try to blame it all on me when I have no decision-making authority?" he added.
