June 2, 2023
KUALA LUMPUR – No one can deny that Jho Low, the chief suspect who colluded with former PM Najib to create the shocking RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, is a master hider.
MACC confirmed on Tuesday that Low was hiding in Macau, and it appeared that his case was about to be rounded up very soon.
However, barely a day later, co-author of Billion Dollar Whale Bradley Hope divulged that the fugitive was very likely under house arrest in Shanghai!
We believe that no one will ever be able to escape justice, and Low does no have supernatural powers, and is at best only a flying squirrel still on the run now but will eventually be caught.
Hope said he believed Low was under house arrest in Shanghai. He tweeted, “China is holding Jho on a tight leash because of negotiations with Malaysia.”
Former Chinese police chief Sun Lijun, said to have close ties with Jho Low, was sentenced to death last September on serious corruption and abuse of power charges, while the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) business partner responsible for Malaysia’s ECRL project was expelled.
If Hope’s claim is substantiated, it will be a matter of time before Low is repatriated to Malaysia, pending cooperation from the Chinese authorities.
MACC’s claim that Low was in Macau was derived from the commission’s written response to questions from Al Jazeera that “this was also confirmed by several individuals who have seen Jho Low in Macau.”
Kee Kok Thiam, former 1MDB employee and Low’s aide who was arrested upon arrival in Malaysia early last month, also confirmed this while giving his statement to the MACC.
Kee’s sudden death on Monday, less than a month after returning to Malaysia, raised more suspicion.
However, his lawyers said Kee suffered from a sudden massive stroke on May 28 and died at the hospital the following day.
The lawyers stressed that the hospital had confirmed Kee died of a natural cause.
On May 3 morning, the MACC took the statement of Kee and searched his house. According to MACC’s findings, Kee received the misappropriated funds from 1MDB and SRC International through the bank account of a company called Wright Shaw Limited.
We have no idea how many more people have actually accepted misappropriated funds from 1MDB. More investigations will have to be conducted.
Additionally, Kee told the MACC he had met Low and several other suspects in the 1MDB case in Macau.
It was learned that Low had instructed Kee not to return to Malaysia to be a witness in the 1MDB case, but we have no way to tell whether Kee had revealed more information on the case.
Low has been on the wanted list of the governments of Malaysia, Singapore and the United States ever since the 1MDB scandal first came to light.
On March 29 this year, he was convicted in absentia in the 1MDB money-laundering case by the criminal court of Kuwait, and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) had already issued a red notice against Low. Of the 195 member states of ICPO, he was said to have been hiding either in Shanghai or Macau.
Anyway, it is a good thing that he is still alive. At least we will get to know more about the scandal and how many more corrupt officials were also involved.
The Malaysian government will have to work much harder to get Jho Low repatriated, including through the channels of intelligence agencies and the ICPO.
We will need to persuade the country in which Low is hiding not to provide him any more shelter, and have him sent back to Malaysia to face his charges.
Once Low and his accomplices are back in Malaysia, they will have to be put under close surveillance during and after interrogation by the authorities to ensure their personal safety, so that the investigations could be completed.