Malaysia: Jho Low tried to strike deal with Mahathir administration over 1MDB, audio recordings show

The fugitive financier repeatedly tried to bargain for his freedom, and also asked Kuala Lumpur to intercede on his behalf with Singapore

The tapes are part of a new documentary released by Al-Jazeera, which also said Low was currently living in Macau

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Protesters hold illustrations of fugitive financier Jho Low during a 2018 protest in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AP

Published: 5:04pm, 17 Nov 2020Updated: 12:36am, 18 Dec 2020

Jho Low, the fugitive financier widely viewed as the mastermind behind Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption scandal, repeatedly sought a deal with the Mahathir Mohamad administration and offered up the cooperation of other fugitives, newly released audio recordings have shown.

The tapes were part of a two-part documentary on Low released on Monday by Al-Jazeera. The Qatar-based broadcaster said the recordings captured Low’s conversations with officials in the government of former prime minister Mahathir from the time it came to power in the May 2018 election until November that year.

Apart from seeking the termination of investigations in Malaysia in exchange for a waiver of his rights to seized assets, Low is also heard requesting Kuala Lumpur intercede on his behalf with Singapore – which in 2016 initiated its own investigations on the scandal and placed an Interpol red notice for his arrest.

A portion of the more than US$7 billion said to be misappropriated from 1MDB was parked in the city state, and assets linked to Low there were subsequently frozen.

The recordings also mention Najib Razak, the former prime minister toppled in the 2018 polls, who was in July sentenced to 12 years in prison in the first of a series of criminal trials linking him to the 1MDB scandal.

Najib, who is currently out on bail, was ultimately the person who had the authority to make decisions on 1MDB in his concurrent role as the country’s finance minister, Low is heard saying in one recording.

Low spoke to officials in the administration of Mahathir Mohamad, the recordings show. Photo: Reuters

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