Malaysian financier claims innocence in 1MDB case
US accuses ex-Goldman Sachs execs for scandal
A Malaysian financier at the center of a corruption scandal surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) maintained his innocence Friday after the US unveiled criminal charges against him and two ex-Goldman Sachs bankers.
Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, and the former bankers were accused by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) of conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the fund and bribing officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.
Malaysia’s extraordinary 1MDB corruption scandal allegedly saw top officials loot billions from a government fund which helps develop the country, and go on a worldwide spending spree, buying up super- yachts, Van Gogh artwork and financing the Hollywood blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been arrested and charged over the scandal. But he denies any wrongdoing.
Low allegedly played a central role in plundering 1MDB. He was an associate of Razak, whose government lost power in May in large part due to allegations that the then premier was involved in the vast fraud.
Since being ousted, Najib has been hit with a barrage of charges linked to the scandal.
A spokesman for 36-year-old Low, who held no official position at the fund but was believed to have huge influence over its workings, said that he “maintains his innocence.”
“The US Department of Justice specifically states that the charges in the indictment are allegations, and that Mr Low is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
The indictments unsealed Thursday against him, ex-bankers Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa, were the first US criminal charges over the huge fraud, which has spawned investigations around the world.
Ng was arrested in Malaysia on Thursday, according to the DOJ. Leissner has already pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $43.7 million in restitution of ill-gotten gains.
Goldman Sachs underwrote about $6.5 billion in bonds issued by 1MDB, according to the US government.