1MDB scandal: Anwar says Malaysia in talks with countries to speed up Jho Low’s extradition
- Anwar says his administration is working with ‘many countries’ to repatriate Low, who masterminded the looting of US$4.5 billion from the sovereign wealth fund
- The Malaysian prime minister refused to be drawn over reports the billionaire, on the run since 2018, has been hiding in China
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“We never confirmed where he is, but we are negotiating with countries to expedite the process,” Anwar told reporters, declining to name the nations but insisting they were supporting Malaysia’s quest. “Of course, it is a complicated process. It involves many countries, intelligence services, Interpol, et cetera.”
On April 20, investigative journalist Bradley Hope, who co-wrote the book Billion Dollar Whale on Low’s exploits in the 1MDB scandal, published a report that the businessman’s arrest “is in play”, saying that China was ready to hand him over to Malaysian authorities as part of a diplomatic charm offensive.
Adding it could happen in a matter of weeks, Hope’s report claimed that the matter was discussed by Anwar in his recent inaugural visit to Beijing in March.
Back home, a Malaysian court in October already handed jail sentences to Low and his father Larry Low Hock Peng – who is also on the run – for contempt of court, after the duo failed to comply with judicial orders served on them demanding them to disclose their whereabouts and their assets in a civil suit filed by the troubled Malaysian fund.
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The chances of him giving himself up remain slim and he maintains that “it is simply not possible to receive a fair trial in Malaysia”, claiming that he is being tried by the media and victimised by Malaysian authorities.
Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah, however, said that Low’s absence had instead deprived his client of getting a fair trial, calling the fugitive “the number one crook” in the multibillion-dollar scandal.