Sources: Jho Low reached out to PM immediately after GE14

EXCLUSIVE | Jho Low had reached out to Dr Mahathir Mohamad immediately after he was sworn-in as prime minister to offer assistance on 1MDB related matters, said sources.

At that time, the new government has yet to commence the full-scale probe into the scandal.

"Soon after Tun (Mahathir) became PM, Low sent out feelers that he was willing to cooperate in the 1MDB case.

"The feelers were sent to people close to Mahathir. I think this led to Low being formally summoned by the authorities," a government source told Malaysiakini.

This could explain why Mahathir had said on May 14, three days after being sworn-in, that his administration “roughly knows” where Low currently was.

Today, Mahathir revealed that Low was in a country which had no extradition arrangements with Malaysia.

Yesterday, the MACC said it had an arrest warrant out against Low and several others in connection with investigations into 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Low was believed to have been away from the country for several years. Following a request from Singapore, Low was placed on an Interpol red notice since October 2016.

Although Najib Abdul Razak's administration had maintained that Low had nothing to do with 1MDB, the latter’s name has repeatedly cropped up in investigations into 1MDB related matters by various jurisdictions across the globe.

In particular, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has repeatedly named Low in its court filings to seize 1MDB-related assets.

Among others, the DOJ had accused Low of spending 1MDB funds on jewellery, the mega-yacht Equanimity and luxury properties, among others.

Now that a new administration has been installed at Putrajaya, domestic investigations on 1MDB have been re-started and a special task force formed to coordinate a multi-agency effort. -Mkini