The US' 250th Independence Day celebrations on July 4 have come and gone, and a purported plan for US President Donald Trump to grant 250 pardons does not appear to have materialised.
As of 2am today in Washington DC, only 11 people have been pardoned by Trump - and fugitive financier Low Taek Jho is not among them.
The 11, who were pardoned on Friday ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, are two convicted fraudsters and nine charged with having violated the federal Clean Air Act by disabling or otherwise modifying trucks’ emissions controls.
Previously, The Atlantic reported that the White House had been toying with the idea of "250 pardons for 250 years".
Besides Low, another person reportedly on the list included celebrity Pras Michel - who was convicted of conspiring with Low and a Chinese government official to orchestrate a lobbying campaign aimed at halting US criminal investigations into the 1MDB scandal after the funds had already been misappropriated.
US$4.5b siphoned
Low has been accused of masterminding a scheme that siphoned at least US$4.5 billion (about RM17.7 billion) from 1MDB, together with two former bankers from Goldman Sachs.
On May 13, The Wall Street Journal reported that Low’s application to Trump seeks a "pardon after completion of sentence", and that its status is still pending.
In 2024, Low struck a settlement with the US Department of Justice for the return of US$100 million being sought in a civil forfeiture suit.
The 1MDB scandal also led to the conviction and imprisonment of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is likewise seeking a pardon in Malaysia. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.