Report: Jho Low a 'strategist' for China, cost to M'sia more than govt admits

Summary

• Journalists Bradley Hope and Tom Wright claim Jho Low is living in luxury in Shanghai under a fake Australian passport and working covertly as a strategist for the Chinese government.

• Their newsletter alleges Malaysia suffered nearly RM76.5 billion in total economic damage from the 1MDB scandal, far exceeding official figures.

Fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) was reportedly sighted in Shanghai, where he is said to be working for the Chinese government as a “behind-the-scenes strategist”.

Investigative journalists Bradley Hope and Tom Wright said Low is using a fake Australian passport with a Greek name, Constantinos Achilles Veis, to get around while hiding his identity.

“He’s living in an ultra high-end neighbourhood in Shanghai called Green Hills in a mansion, with luxury cars and travelling 15 minutes to his office at the Shanghai Financial Centre,” the pair claimed in their newsletter “Whale Hunting” last night.

In 2023, Hope dismissed allegations that Low was located in Macau, expressing his belief that the businessperson was under house arrest in Shanghai.

Hope and Wright are the authors of the bestselling book “Billion Dollar Whale” and were formerly reporters for The Wall Street Journal.

In March, they established a meme coin bounty system to locate Low and obtain information about him.

Those who provided information which moderators verified as true were rewarded with $JHOLOW coins based on the value of the information.

Greater economic loss

Commenting further, the newsletter alleged that Low caused a greater economic loss to Malaysia than the government admitted, saying that it was closer to RM76.5 billion.

“A top official has confirmed this calculation, based on their investigations and internal deliberations:

“US$7.65 billion (RM32.48 billion) was stolen from 1MDB, with Low personally stealing about US$2.5 billion.

“Total economic damage of the fraud – real cost to Malaysia - is actually US$12 billion. Nearly the entire size of 1MDB at its peak (US$13 billion).

“The corrupt and super-inflated China Belt-and-Road initiative deals that (former prime minister) Najib Abdul Razak signed in order to cover up the 1MDB fraud (orchestrated by Low) led to Malaysia suffering another US$6 billion in losses.

“Some of that money may have simply been stolen, so it’s conceivable that Low is the recipient of some of it.

“That means the total direct cost of 1MDB for Malaysia is somewhere in the US$18 billion range. The indirect cost is probably even worse (the impact on borrowing, reputation, etc),” they said.

1MDB’s impact remains

International investigations into the massive 1MDB scandal - which continues to impact Malaysia’s political and financial landscape - estimated that at least US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from the government-owned fund between 2009 and 2013.

The scandal - often labelled one of the largest financial frauds in modern history - continues to hold significant legal and political weight in Malaysia and around the world.

On May 30, a New York court sentenced former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner to two years in prison for his central role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

Goldman Sachs played a central role in selling US$6.5 billion worth of bonds for 1MDB, with Low’s assistance.

However, a significant portion of the funds was illicitly diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies tied to the Penang-born Low.

Also in May, a Luxembourg court ordered private bank Edmond de Rothschild Europe to pay a €25 million (RM120 million) fine in a landmark criminal settlement over money laundering and concealment charges related to 1MDB.

Of the amount misappropriated from 1MDB, about US$472.5 million was deposited into accounts at Edmond de Rothschild Europe.

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