Fugitive Malaysian tycoon Jho Low nears US$1 billion settlement with US over 1MDB scandal, reports say

Deal would be biggest recovery of funds under US government’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative and resolve more than dozen forfeiture lawsuits

Settlement will not include an admission of guilt or wrongdoing and will not be tied to criminal action against Low

Reading Time:2 minutes

Jho Low during an interview at his office in Central, Hong Kong, in March 2015. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 3:17am, 31 Oct 2019Updated: 5:46pm, 17 Dec 2019

Fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, widely viewed as the mastermind behind the multibillion dollar plunder of the 1MDB state fund, is poised to forfeit some US$1 billion to the US Department of Justice in a tentative settlement in civil forfeiture cases surrounding the scandal, reports said on Thursday.

Bloomberg, The New York Times and Malaysian business daily The Edge Markets reported the imminent settlement deal, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

The reports said the deal will not include an admission of guilt or wrongdoing and would not be tied to criminal action against him.

The settlement could be filed in a California court as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg. The settlement would be the biggest recovery of funds under the US government’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. The Bloomberg source said the settlement would resolve more than a dozen forfeiture lawsuits.

The Department of Justice first announced the filing of civil forfeiture complaints in 2016, during the era of President Barack Obama.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x