Jho Low: BN govt didn't want me to do deal with DOJ and implicate Najib

 

Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho or Jho Low claimed to have been on the verge of a deal to sell his assets and settle his 1MDB lawsuits with the United States Department of Justice but the then-administration of prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was not willing to have documents revealed that would implicate the latter.

A day after the famous raids on Najib-linked properties following the May 2018 general election, Low began communications with the government of new prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The recordings are now being revealed by Al Jazeera in its documentary "Hunt for a fugitive".

Low, in the leaked audio recordings made between May and November 2018, was also keen to indicate that the responsibility for the disappearance of 1MDB funds lay elsewhere and claimed that just before GE14, he had been on the verge of a deal with the US government.

"Basically I agree to give up all the assets, the US sells it and the monies will be used to directly repay 1MDB's US dollar bonds."

"The US doesn't trust the Malaysian government so they said they are not going to send back the money," claimed Low.

He apparently believed that Najib feared incrimination if Low agreed to give back the assets.

"If I signed the deal, then the (new) Malaysian government could say 'Are you basically saying that the monies are from 1MDB?' I told them in the US, it's different, you can sign settlement agreements which have no admission of wrongdoing."

A persistent theme of Low's statements on record is his unwillingness to admit to wrongdoing and serve jail time, as well as his deflection of responsibility to Najib.

Low describes himself as transparent and willing to come to an agreement.

"I'm happy to talk by WhatsApp, video chat because I am totally transparent. If you all need to record, it's fine. I have no issues," he told his unnamed contact.

Low also claimed that more than US$1 billion (RM4.11 billion at today’s exchange rate) that ended up in Najib’s private bank accounts came from 1MDB and was not part of the generous donation from Saudi Arabia’s royal family.

He alleged that the supposed “donation” from Saudi Arabia was only a “small portion” compared to the sum siphoned from 1MDB.

"The reality is, it is true that King Abdullah actually agreed to give [a] donation to the PM but that was the small portion of a larger portion.

“The reality is, Abu Dhabi people did take money.

“The discussion I left off with them is, look, whatever I settle with the DoJ that is used to pay 1MDB bonds, you should all match the same amount, which is probably close to US$1 billion,” he added.

Al Jazeera also spoke to now-retired FBI agent Bill McMurry who led the 1MDB investigation and who said that the evidence in the case was very compelling.

"It's really the ultimate sin of a public official to take the money out of the hands of the people that you were elected to serve and then to do it on a scale that was done on this case is just sickening."

“We’re (also) very confident that we will be able to prove Jho Low’s involvement and his position in this scheme,” said McMurry, who is now with a private-sector intelligence company.

Another former FBI special agent, Debra LaPrevotte, who was also involved in the initial stages of the 1MDB investigation, called Low's claims comical.

“If there was no wrongdoing, people wouldn’t be giving back the assets, right? There would be no assets to be seized. It’s comical. It’s like, if I keep saying the lie, maybe somebody will believe me,” she says.

Al Jazeera reported sources in both Malaysia and Macau as confirming that the fugitive financier was living in a house owned by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party in Macau since at least February 2018.

As recently as November 2019, Low flew from Bangkok to Dubai stopping off for three days in India’s Ahmedabad. He was reportedly travelling on a passport from Grenada. - Mkini