Jho Low, alleged financial mastermind in a $4.5 billion Malaysian graft scheme, resurfaced from hiding. He is pleading his case not with prosecutors, but with a broadsheet.
Low Taek Jho – Jho Low – is a fugitive of Malaysian and U.S. justice: the Chinese-Malaysian financier is believed to be behind the complex web of offshore transactions out of state fund 1MDB and into private coffers.
He went underground in 2016 after the scandal below open, and is believed to be hiding in China. Swiss banks including Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI), Falcon Private Bank, UBS, and Credit Suisse were among the wealth managers to take 1MDB money. Jho Lows's holdings – which include fine art, a $35 million Bombardier private jet, and a $250 million luxury yacht – were confiscated.
Merely Making Links
Low claims he and his family are a victim of Malaysia's justice system, and that he was simply a middleman, in interviews in Singapore's«Straits Times» (behind paywall). «People and companies act as introducers or intermediaries all the time,» Low said.
«This is not a unique situation. I was requested to assist because of my good relationships with influential foreign businessmen and decision-makers.» Low's haggling with Swiss banks including BSI was detailed shortly after he disappeared nearly four years ago.
Unasked, Unanswered
The co-author of 1MDB bestseller «Billion Dollar Whale», Tom Wright, blasted Low's interview as «pointless»: the fugitive doesn't answer several U.S. and Malaysian charges, nor did the outlet press him on the accusations.
Instead, Low was given media bandwidth to elaborate on his philanthropic plans: after what he called «multiple brushes with cancer,» he said he plans to focus his charitable efforts on cancer research. Malaysia outlet «The Edge» helpfully asked the questions that the outlet didn't ask.
