WASHINGTON, D.C. — A fugitive financier accused of involvement in a massive corruption scandal in Malaysia, in which top officials looted billions from state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), has sought a pardon from United States President Donald Trump.
Businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, is formally seeking a “pardon after completion of sentence,” the US Department of Justice website said.
Whistleblowers allege that Jho Low, a well-connected Malaysian financier with no official role, helped set up 1MDB and made key financial decisions before disappearing about a decade ago.
STATE FUND SCANDAL A protester holds Malaysia’s flag during a rally calling for the arrest of businessman Low Taek Jho in the capital Kuala Lumpur on April 14, 2018. EPA FILE PHOTO
Low, who has been indicted in the US, has denied wrongdoing but remains at large.
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Malaysia’s Trade Minister Johari Abdul Ghani, who leads a task force seeking to recover assets linked to 1MDB worldwide, said the plea should be rejected, and Low returned for trial.
Granting a pardon to the businessman is “the right of the US, but personally I think [the] US should help to bring back Jho Low to Malaysia,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP) via text message.
1MDB was launched by former prime minister Najib Razak in 2009, shortly after he became the Southeast Asian country’s head of government.
It is alleged that more than $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 $2.8 billion for his role in the plunder.
Najib’s defense lawyers blamed Low and dubbed him the mastermind of the scheme.
Malaysia unsuccessfully sought Low’s return through extradition, and it was widely speculated in the media that he was hiding in China.
Trump was scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The scandal shook Malaysian politics, contributing to the 2018 downfall of the ruling coalition that had governed since independence in 1957, and led 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, Monet as well as Van Gogh paintings, and even to fund the Hollywood blockbuster “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified in court about Low’s wild spending sprees and lavish parties.
The globe-spanning scandal also ensnared Pras Michel, a member of rap trio The Fugees, who was found guilty of helping Low funnel money from 1MDB into US politics.