1MDB scandal: China denies sheltering Malaysian fugitive Jho Low

The rebuttal comes after Malaysia’s police chief said the alleged mastermind behind the scandal is hiding in Macau

Low has been charged in Malaysia and the US over allegations that he orchestrated the theft of US$4.5 billion from the state fund

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Fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. Photo: SCMP

Published: 12:16pm, 30 Jul 2020Updated: 12:19pm, 30 Jul 2020

China on Wednesday denied protecting fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, being sought by global investigators over his role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.

Low, popularly known as Jho Low, has been charged in Malaysia and the United States over allegations that he orchestrated the theft of US$4.5 billion from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), co-founded by former prime minister Najib Razak. Low has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Malaysia’s national police chief Abdul Hamid Bador was reported by newspaper Utusan Malaysia as saying Low was hiding in Macau and that attempts to extradite him had failed as Chinese authorities “appeared insincere” in their efforts to cooperate.

Asked why he had chosen to reveal Low’s location now, Abdul Hamid said allegations had been made that officers were “purposely slowing down on the effort to bring him to justice”.

Malaysia’s national police chief Abdul Hamid Bador. Photo: AP

Chinese authorities rejected the accusations as “groundless and unacceptable”, saying that police had investigated all possible leads but were unable to trace Low.