IGP: NO EVIDENCE LINKING JHO LOW WITH DEALS MADE BY 1MDB
Police investigations show Low has never worked with 1MDB, says IGP
THERE is no solid evidence linking Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, to any decision or business deal made by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said police investigations revealed Low had never worked with 1MDB and that every decision had been made by its management or board.
“Police carried out investigations against 1MDB based on the Public Accounts Committee report tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2016.
“However, if we receive any new evidence against Low, we will take action against him according to the law,” he said in a statement.
Fuzi said the United States Department of Justice (DoJ)’s action in seizing the yacht Equanimity, which it claimed belonged to Low, in Indonesia was a civil action based on a court case in the United States.
The case, he said, was against Low and not 1MDB.
“Malaysian police have not received any information from Indonesian authorities or the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding the seizure of Equanimity on Feb 28. Nor have we been contacted by any party to help in investigations into the yacht.”
Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities have rubbished a viral message that claimed that RM1 billion in cash was found on board the yacht.
Daniel Silitingo, the deputy director of economic and special crimes in the republic’s Central Police Department, said there was no truth to the claims and that the Indonesian authorities did not find any cash in their inspection of the vessel.
He said the inspection involved other parties, including the marine police, as well as the vessel’s captain.
“I led the mission in seizing the yacht (Equanimity). We did not find any cash. Had we found any cash, they (the other parties) would have been aware of it, but there was nothing.
“All we found were the crew and passenger manifest. The enforcement action was carried out based on the philosophy of ‘fight the crime, serve the people’.
“We also didn’t name anyone linked to Malaysia,” he was quoted as saying in a Jawapos.com report yesterday.
The fake report arose after a Facebook user by the name of Miyoyo uploaded the image of a stack of cash, accompanied by the status “Indonesian police found RM1 billion cash hidden in Jo Lo’s (Jho Low) vessel”.
The claims on the discovery of the cash went viral, soon after the Indonesian authorities seized the vessel.
The issue was subsequently politicised by the opposition, who linked it to the 1MDB issue.