Loo unable to confirm veracity of Jho Low’s claims

KUALA LUMPUR: Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan yesterday agreed that Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was big on name-dropping, the High Court heard.

She also admitted under crossexamination that she could not confirm his claims.

Loo said this to defence counsel Tania Scivetti during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1MBD trial.

She said Low tended to associate himself with influential and powerful individuals worldwide.

It was reported that Najib’s former Ambank relationship manager Joanna Yu also testified that Low claimed he knew and would arrange meetings with the prime minister, Bank Negara Malaysia governor and influential individuals from Kuwait.

Loo, who is the 50th prosecution witness, also said she had never made any agreements with the prosecution to testify against the former prime minister.

She said this when Scivetti suggested that she agreed to provide testimony favouring the prosecution so that the case against her would not proceed.

Loo reiterated that she was not aware that whatever money she received came from the sovereign wealth fund, and that she had accepted in good faith.

Loo had left the country around April 2018 before the 14th general election, which saw the fall of the Barisan Nasional government.

She returned to the country last July and has been assisting the authorities with 1MDB asset recovery. She is under police witness protection.

In 2018, fugitive businessman Jho Low, alongside four others linked to the scandal — Loo, Terence Geh, Casey Tang Keng Chee and Eric Tan Kim Loong — were charged in absentia at the Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur magistrate courts over money-laundering cases linked to the 1MDB scandal.

Loo was charged with two counts of laundering more than US$6 million received in a Swiss account she controlled on Dec 6, 2012 and July 1, 2014.

The trial continues.