Whistleblower website Sarawak Report is facing suspension after an "undisclosed individual" bought the copyright for pictures of tycoon Jho Low partying with celebrities.

The website had over the years published various pictures of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd-linked businessman ’s lavish parties which are graced by the likes of heiress celebrity Paris Hilton.

Founding editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown ( right ) told Malaysiakini that the firm Celeb Images Agency claiming copyright for the photos does not exist.

Sarawak Report 's checks found the pictures circulating on the internet for the past four years were recently bought by an individual.

"This company called Celeb Images Agency doesn't actually exist as a business and does not want payment for usage - it only wants to threaten us to take the pictures down and to threaten our server companies into forcing us to if we want to keep our server.

"So, we started to get suspicious. We tracked the actual copyright owners to discover that an undisclosed person has recently bought up the rights and they are not allowed to disclose anything more," she said in an email.

Sarawak Report ’s servers has given it a grace period till Monday to discuss the matter, she said.

The website has been exposing leaked emails between 1MDB and PetroSaudi International, which it claims show Low orchestrating the deal which saw 1MDB sinking US$1.1 billion ( RM4.05 billion) .

The joint venture was also linked to the sale of Utama Banking Group Bhd (UBG) by Cahya Mata Sarawak which is majority-owned by former Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s family.

Low did not deny the emails and said his advice was sought on the deal.

He said he was never on 1MDB’s payroll and is a victim of political crossfire.

1MDB said it recovered all the funds it invested into the joint venture with PetroSaudi, which turned sour for reasons undisclosed.