DON’T SCREAM ROSMAH: NOW, DOJ AFTER EXQUISITE DIAMOND SET JHO LOW GAVE HIS MOTHER EVELYN GOH, BELIEVED TO BE CURRENTLY LIVING IN THAILAND

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said it plans to seek the Thai government’s cooperation to serve a warrant on 1MDB-linked jewellery believed to have been given to businessperson Low Taek Jho’s mother, Evelyn Goh Gaik Ewe.

The jewellery in question comprises a pair of diamond earrings with a matching diamond ring.

In a filing to the California Central District Court dated Nov 2, the DOJ said the US government still confirming the exact location of the jewellery, but presumes it to be located in Thailand where its purported owner Goh is believed to reside.

Once consultations with the Thai government are complete, DOJ said it would provide Thai authorities copies of its civil forfeiture suit filing on the jewellery, notice of forfeiture action, and an arrest warrant dated June 16 last year.

This is pursuant to a mutual legal assistance treaty between the two countries.

“Once the government has received confirmation from the central authority of Thailand that it has served the arrest warrant in rem on the defendant assets, the government will move forward towards default of the defendant assets,” it said in the Nov 2 filing sighted by Malaysiakini.

On June 15 last, year, the DOJ filed civil forfeiture suits on a range of assets believed to have been purchased using proceeds of misappropriation at 1MDB that had been funnelled through the US financial system, including the jewellery.

It said Low had used money diverted from 1MDB’s 2012 bond issuances to purchase the jewellery for US$1,695,475 from the New York-based jeweller Lorraine Schwartz Inc.

Low was invoiced for the jewellery on Nov 28, 2012, which included flawless Type 2A diamonds of 7.53 carats, 3.05 carats, and 3.08 carats. Goh supposedly picked up the jewellery in Hong Kong.

In its Nov 2 filing, the DOJ said it had posted a notice of its civil forfeiture suit against the jewellery online on June 21. In addition, it sent notices to potential claimants Goh and Lorraine Schwartz through their lawyers on Aug 4, 2017.

In each case however, the deadline to file counterclaims on the DOJ’s claim on the jewellery lapsed without any counterclaims being filed.

Low has been charged in absentia in both the US and Malaysia over allegations of money laundering in relation to the 1MDB scandal. He has maintained that he is innocent.

MKINI