Father and son charged
Fugitive businessman and his father face nine counts of money laundering
Arrest warrants have been issued for fugitive businessman Jho Low and his father, Tan Sri Low Hock Peng, over money allegedly stolen from 1MDB. The financier, via his lawyers, has vowed not to submit to Malaysian courts and at the same time challenged the Admiralty Court’s decision to grant an application by the government and 1MDB to sell the superyacht, Equanimity, which is also linked to him.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have filed criminal charges against businessman Low Taek Jho and his father for offences under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 over money allegedly stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
A source said the charges were filed in absentia by the police with the sanction of the Attorney General’s Chambers at the Putrajaya Sessions Court yesterday morning.
According to the charge sheets made available to The Star, Low – also known as Jho Low – is facing eight counts of money laundering.
In the first, second and third charges, the 37-year-old allegedly received US$261,449,960 from unlawful activities into his BSI Bank Limited account.
In the fourth to eighth charges, he
€ allegedly transferred 41,100,073.22 and US$140,636,225.10 into the account of World View Limited, Caymans Island, in Caledonian Bank Limited, Caymans Island.
The offences were allegedly committed at BSI Bank Limited, No.7, Temasek Boulevard, #32-01 Suntec Tower One, Singapore, between Dec 26, 2013, and June 3, 2014.
Jho Low’s father Tan Sri Low Hock Peng, 66, also faces a charge of money laundering where he allegedly transferred monies from unlawful activity amounting to US$56,449,980 from his bank account into his son’s BSI Bank Limited account.
He allegedly committed the offence at the same BSI Bank Limited on Feb 4, 2014.
All the charges were under Section 4(1)(a) of the Act, which carries a fine up to RM5mil, imprisonment for a term up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
The source said police also applied for warrants of arrest for Jho Low and his father.
The source said a portion of the money was used to purchase the luxury yacht Equanimity, which was seized by Malaysia two weeks ago.
Under Section 401 of the Criminal Procedure Code, an absent person with no immediate prospect of arrest may be tried by the court for an offence in his absence.
In a related development, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the new charges enabled the Royal Malaysia Police to obtain new warrants of arrest for Jho Low and his father.
“From there, we will ask Interpol to issue a fresh Red Notice alert on the duo. The Red Notice will seek the cooperation of relevant countries in tracking down the wanted persons,” he told The Star.
The Red Notice will also expedite the extradition process, which will be handled by the Attorney General’s Chambers, and to bring the duo back to Malaysia, he said.
“Our priority has always been to track them down and detain them as soon as possible,” he added.
Based on the charge sheets seen by The Star, journalists visited Jho Low’s family home in Tanjung Bungah, Penang, but no one appeared to be home.