Report claims Malaysia hammering out deal for Jho Low’s repatriation

Malaysian government officials are working on a deal with China that would see the fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho repatriated to Malaysia, according to the former Wall Street Journal reporter Bradley Hope.

He claimed that multiple sources have said the arrangement is being “hotly debated” in the Malaysian government following Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to China last month.

“Such a deal would involve wiping the slate clean over China's involvement with deals structured by Jho Low (above) to cover up the 1MDB fraud, China's attempts to bolster Najib (Abdul) Razak's political career (including in cash support), recalibrating Belt and Road Initiative projects in Malaysia to be economically feasible and beneficial to Malaysian infrastructure needs and handing over Jho Low himself (and all his plundered loot).

“This would be huge, fascinating and mark the end of the main storyline of the 1MDB scandal – from its founding in 2009 to collapse amid scandal in 2015 and all the insane partying and spending along the way until 2023.

“It could also mean a big cash recovery for Malaysia, too, because (Low) – by our estimates and sources who have followed the case closely – still controls a multi-billion dollar cash hoard,” he wrote.

The claim is published in today’s edition of the newsletter Whale Hunting, which he runs with fellow journalist Tom Wright. The duo are co-authors of the book Billion Dollar Whale about Low’s role in the 1MDB scandal.

China had previously denied on multiple occasions that it was harbour Low, but reports that he was laying low in the country persisted.

To complicate matters, Malaysia does not have an extradition treaty with China.

[More to follow] - Mkini