The alleged mastermind behind one of this decade's greatest global financial scandals was seen earlier this month relaxing on the Thai resort island of Phuket.
A few weeks later, after his political mentor was felled in upset elections, authorities want to know more precisely: Where on earth is Jho Low? For almost a decade, the young Malaysian financier was at the center of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
sovereign-wealth fund and the disappearance of at least $4.5 billion, the US Justice Department alleges. Although the agency named Mr. Low as the ringleader, he remained confident he could beat the rap, say people who know him, and he blithely partied and yachted around Asia, trying to contain the fallout, reports WSJ.
Low was so nonchalant he held a party in February with celebrity friends in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, say people familiar with the event. He was in Phuket this month in anticipation of a victory for Prime Minister Najib Razak, his ally, these people say.
Malaysian financier Jho Low has been spotted around Asia since reports of his alleged involvement in a financial scandal at Malaysian state fund 1MDB. Then came the shock. Malaysian voters kicked Najib's party out of power for the first time in the nation's history. The missing 1MDB billions played a heavy role in the election.
With cover from Najib, Low had sent sovereign wealth around the globe, taking cuts for himself and paying off conspirators in the Middle East and Europe, the Justice Department's civil suits allege.
Parts of the scheme were detailed by the agency, which is seeking to seize, through more than a dozen civil asset-forfeiture lawsuits, mansions, artwork, a superyacht and some profits from Hollywood films including "The Wolf of Wall Street," which Mr. Low and others allegedly acquired with the proceeds.
Malaysia's new government under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad , a 92-year-old who previously served in the office between 1981 and 2003, is seeking to prosecute Najib and to claw back missing funds.
With Najib under effective house arrest, the focus is turning to Low's whereabouts. Malaysian Special Branch, the intelligence arm of the Royal Malaysia Police, is tracking him down, officials from the new government say.
"I roughly know where he is," said Daim Zainuddin, who heads a council of advisers set up by Mr. Mahathir, which is looking into the 1MDB affair, in a news conference, "and I would like for him to come and assist me."
Mr. Low's lawyers say he declines to be interviewed or say where he is now. He has previously denied wrongdoing and said he was only an adviser to a fund that later became 1MDB.
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