An American consultant has been sentenced to two years in jail for illicitly lobbying the former Trump administration to drop the probe into the 1MDB scandal.
Nickie Mali Lum Davis of Honolulu pleaded guilty in 2020 to one count of aiding and abetting in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, AP reported.
According to US prosecutors, Davis failed to disclose to the federal government that the lobbying was done on behalf of fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), who has been charged in the US with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the sovereign fund.
"In exchange for millions of dollars, Davis and others tried to use back channels to influence officials at the highest levels of the US government and sell connections to the 'highest foreign bidder," the news agency quoted John Keller of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section telling reporters after Davis' sentencing yesterday.
US prosecutors allege that at least US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, which was established to accelerate Malaysia's economic development. The funds were then laundered and used as a "piggy bank" by the associates of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who's currently serving a 12-year jail term.
Aside from trying to wipe away legal troubles for Jho Low, Davis was also jailed for unsuccessfully trying to arrange meetings with the Justice Department to lobby for a dissident living in the US on a temporary visa to return to China.
One of Davis' attorneys claimed that his client only relayed messages back and forth as a middle person and had no government connections of her own.
US District Judge Leslie Kobayashi said that Davis has not shown any remorse, noting that she had previously tried to withdraw her guilty plea.
Davis was ordered to report to the Bureau of Prisons on April 14. - Mkini
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