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Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal echoes in US as Jho Low associate is pardoned by Trump
- Top Republican donor Elliott Broidy, who helped Malaysian financier illicitly lobby US government, wins reprieve on Trump’s last day in office
- Broidy was one of several people caught up in the scandal, with former Malaysian PM Najib Razak the most notable
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There was a Malaysian connection to the flurry of pardons outgoing US President Donald Trump issued on Wednesday, with a top Republican donor convicted of illicitly lobbying for Jho Low, the fugitive mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, among those receiving clemency.
The final list released in the early hours of Trump’s last day in office offered clemency grants to a total of 143 people – many of whom were ignominious close associates, such as the former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Alongside Elliott Broidy, Trump also pardoned other high-profile politicians, such as convicted former House Republicans Rick Renzi and Robert Hayes.
Broidy, 63, pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as part of a covert campaign to lobby on behalf of Low, the fugitive businessman widely believed to be at the centre of the multibillion plunder of the Malaysian state fund 1MDB between 2009 and 2015.
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As part of a plea deal, Broidy admitted to accepting US$9 million from Low to persuade the Trump administration to drop US investigations into the scandal.
The looting of 1MDB has had far-reaching consequences and eventually led to the political downfall of Najib Razak, the former Malaysian prime minister, Low associate and architect of the sovereign wealth fund. Najib last year was convicted to 12 years in jail over the first set of 42 charges linking him to the fraud. He is appealing the verdict.
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