‘Non-issue’: Malaysia PM Anwar says not opposed to fugitive financier Jho Low’s US pardon bid

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

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Seremban district, south of Kuala Lumpur, Anwar described the plea 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 Jho 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 US, has denied wrongdoing but remains at large.

"As far as we are concerned, we are not going in that route," Anwar said when asked if the government will formally oppose Jho Low's plea.

"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 Wednesday the plea should be rejected and Low returned for trial.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm against the pardon,"  he said, as quoted by local media platform the New Straits Times. 

Communications minister and government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil echoed Johari’s view, saying that Low should not be given any consideration for pardon because the damage and hardship he brought upon the country were far too great. 

Meanwhile, the Malaysian police said on Friday that investigations are ongoing into allegations that Low had attended secret meetings in Kuala Lumpur last year, reported local news outlet Malay Mail. 

Inspector-General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail said authorities remain bound by the law and will continue cooperating with relevant parties to ensure the matter is fully and properly investigated. 

He did not provide any further details.

The 1MDB fund was launched by Najib 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 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 the 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 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.

Lawyer Andrew Khoo told CNA that Malaysia holds no legal standing or say in any potential US presidential pardon for Jho Low.

Khoo said that the best-case scenario would involve the US Department of Justice (DOJ), in its advisory role to the president, highlighting the implications of a very wide and conditional pardon on attempts by Malaysia and other countries to investigate the crimes for which he is charged or alleged to have committed.

In the US a person may be pardoned even for possible future criminal charges arising from something he has already done or is alleged to have done.

As for the implication of a pardon on any recovery efforts by Malaysia, Khoo who has worked on issues of international trade and anti-money laundering said that the precise wording of the pardon would have to be studied.

“In either a pardon, or a settlement, he may still be required to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to provide information and/or help locate money and/or assets," he said, adding that there may be a requirement to help Malaysia in its recovery.

Additional reporting by Rashvinjeet S Bedi