Explained: Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal

He said he was merely “an intermediary” and had never held a decision-making role at 1MDB, while also underlining “personal safety concerns” that made it necessary for him to keep his whereabouts secret.

The Edge was among the first Malaysian outlets to cover the 1MDB scandal, earning it the ire of the former Barisan Nasional-led government, which in July 2015 suspended the newspaper’s publishing licence for three months. In May 2018, just two weeks after the Barisan Nasional lost a shock election to the Pakatan Harapan coalition, the paper released a 24-page 1MDB special pullout detailing its past coverage.

But it has often been at loggerheads with The Straits Times over its reporting on the scandal, in which billions of ringgit were siphoned out of the state fund and used to buy artwork, throw star-studded parties, and purchase luxury properties.

In 2018, The Edge questioned a Straits Times interview with Swiss whistle-blower Xavier Justo, who spent 18 months in prison in Thailand after leaking 1MDB data in 2015. Justo told The Edge that the interview had been scripted, and he had taken part to secure an early release.

The Straits Times defended its interview, saying it had approached the story in a manner that was “standard and professional”.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal journalist Tom Wright, who co-authored the bestseller Billion Dollar Whale detailing the fraud, dismissed the Straits Times interview with Low on Twitter.

“Jho Low gives pointless interview to The Straits Times without answering multiple charges against him by US and Malaysian authorities. He’s still on the run in China,” said Wright on Twitter.

Fugitive financier Jho Low insists he was not ‘mastermind’ of 1MDB scandal

HERE IS A REPRODUCTION OF THE EDGE PIECE:

Dear Jho Low, we refer to the interview you gave to The Straits Times of Singapore and would like to ask you the following:

1. If you are innocent, why did you give up US$1 billion worth of assets to settle with the US Department of Justice? We are not talking about US$10 million or even US$100 million. This is US$1 billion! Who in his right mind would give this up if he is innocent? And didn’t you tell your favourite newspaper [The Straits Times] that in the US “the rule of law is respected and where people are considered innocent until proven guilty”? So, if you are innocent, why don’t you fight it out in a US court where you say justice can prevail?

2. If the money did not come from 1MDB as you claimed, what was the source of money you used to acquire these US$1 billion worth of assets that you are giving up? If it is from money your grandfather built up, as you have previously claimed, we refer you back to our first question. Why did you so readily give up what your grandfather built to settle with the Department of Justice if you are innocent?

3. Who is the principal if you are the intermediary? You claim that you were only an intermediary. An intermediary to a crime is also a criminal, your lawyers should be able to tell you that. We assume your principal was Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who, by the way, now pins all the blame on you, going by the defence he is putting up in court. Najib alleges that you were the principal. You claim you are just the intermediary. Are you accusing Najib of lying?

Anyway, we say you were joint principals and were each other’s alter ego throughout the years the scheme to scam 1MDB was in play.

4. Where are you now? You say you can’t disclose where you are for safety reasons. Yet, you got [The Straits Times] to say you are likely in the United Arab Emirates. We say this is simply a red herring to divert attention from where you are – China.

Stop the nonsensical spin you are doing with help from your friends in [The Straits Times]. No one believes it anyway. Come back to your country of birth to defend yourself. Don’t run and hide. Only cowards and the guilty do that.