Lim: Chinese envoy says Jho Low not in China – unless he’s got a new identity.
No records exist of fugitive businessman’s presence in country, says Finance Minister
KUALA LUMPUR: Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as “Jho Low”, is not hiding in China, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Lim said he was informed of the matter by the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian.
“I have spoken to the Chinese Ambassador and he said Jho Low is not in China.
“There are no records of a person by that name in the country, unless he is using a different name on a different passport,” Lim said yesterday.
Low is wanted in Malaysia, Singapore and other countries over investigations into 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandals.
Malaysia has applied for an Interpol Red Notice (akin to an international arrest warrant) to seek assistance from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan via diplomatic channels to arrest Low.
Lim also said the arrest of two former Goldman Sachs bankers and a guilty plea from one of them was enough evidence to convince Malaysians the 1MDB scandal was real.
“The fact that Tim Leissner pleaded guilty to the charges proves that the scandal happened but there are still those that deny it,” Lim said.
“I don’t understand it. Even after all the evidence has been brought forth, there are those that still believe the criminals.”
On Thursday, the United States Department of Justice charged Low, along with the two former bankers Leissner and Roger Ng over the transactions related to 1MDB.
The trio were charged with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from 1MDB and conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Ng was also charged with con- spiring to violate the internal controls at Goldman Sachs, which underwrote more than US$6bil in bonds issued by 1MDB.
Leissner pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money and to violating anti-bribery laws while Ng was arrested in Malaysia and will be extradited once the extradition process is completed.