Authors believe Jho Low owns investment company in Taiwan

 

In their pursuit of the whereabouts of Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), two book authors claimed to have discovered yet another business owned by the fugitive businessperson.

According to Bradley Hope and Tom Wright in their latest YouTube video today, Low may be the chairperson of Taiwan-based investment company MingShi Investment Co Ltd.

Based on their research, Low used his real name in the company which was formed in November 2017.

MingShi Investment has a business address in the Xinyi District of Taipei City in Taiwan, with a subscribed capital of 7,000,000. The authors, however, are unclear if this is in New Taiwan Dollar (RM1.007mil) or Chinese Yuan (RM4.42mil).

“It is really just another example of this unbelievable ability of Low to still be in business around the world in countries like Taiwan using his own name.

“He formed this company in November 2017. We are talking about (a time) well after the 1MDB scandal, well after a point where you can search for Low’s name and see the alarming details,” said Hope.

Further checks by the duo revealed that at the start of its establishment, the company’s director was Low’s wife, Chuan Teik Ying. Low was the chairperson of Mingshi Investment.

However, Chuan was later removed as director in May 2019.

The authors said that both Low and Chuan were affiliated with another company, Bright Vision Holdings Ltd, which they believed was based in Samoa.

They noted that Bright Vision was new information in their investigation. However, they did not divulge further.

Malaysiakini is unable to independently verify these claims.

Hope and Wright, who both authored the “Billion Dollar Whale” book on Low, have been actively and openly pursuing the businessperson, attempting to locate his whereabouts under an initiative called “Project Brazen”.

They had previously claimed that Low had also set up a British Virgin Islands firm based in Shanghai and that the fugitive businessperson received tip-offs that suggest Low had been laying low in China in recent years.

Fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho

In a separate video, the duo also alleged that while Low has primarily stayed within mainland China since Najib Abdul Razak fell from power, Low’s family from Penang now appears to be based in Hong Kong.

Bigger chance under Anwar’s administration

Meanwhile, Wright hoped that Low’s whereabouts would become more of a “political issue” under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.

“We believe that Anwar becoming prime minister spells perhaps a slightly bigger chance that Malaysia will start to actively ask Chinese authorities for Low to return home,” he said.

Quoting sources, Hope said the case of Low would be “on the table” again and no longer swept under the carpet.

While noting there would be several obstacles in the negotiations between China and Malaysia, he said both nations had much to gain.

“I think China has a lot to gain because they could sort of restore trust. Malaysia has a lot to gain because they can close the door on this case and maybe recover more of the (missing) money,” he added.

Low, who is accused of siphoning money from 1MDB, is facing a US$3.78 billion (about RM15.85 billion) suit filed by 1MDB and its four subsidiaries. Besides seeking the return of the funds, 1MDB and its subsidiaries are also seeking damages to be assessed by the court.

Low also faces criminal charges for his role in the 1MDB saga and was slapped with eight charges in absentia in 2018 under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act, 2001 (Act 613). - Mkini