'Is he calling us liars?' - reporter fires back at Saifuddin over Jho Low

Investigative journalist Tom Wright, who helped expose the 1MDB scandal, has hit back at Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

This is over the latter’s claim that Malaysian authorities have no verified information on the whereabouts of fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.

“Is he calling us liars?” Wright posted on X, responding to a news report quoting Saifuddin as saying there is no verified evidence that the Penang-born businessperson is in China.

Earlier today, Saifuddin told reporters that authorities had yet to locate Low.

“Until now, I can say that court orders regarding the location and passport use of those individuals have no supporting factors or evidence to substantiate their location.

“That is all. We haven’t found him. If we did, we would give an update,” he said.

Low in Shanghai

The minister’s remarks were in response to Wright and his colleague Bradley Hope, who revealed last week that Low is allegedly living in Shanghai, using a fake Australian passport under the Greek name Constantinos Achilles Veis.

“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”.

Wright and Hope 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.

Low, the alleged mastermind of the 1MDB scandal, faces multiple corruption and money laundering charges. He is also wanted in the US.

He is accused of orchestrating the swindling of US$4.5 billion (RM19 billion) from 1MDB.

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