Malaysian fugitive Jho Low seeks Trump pardon in 1MDB case

[NEW YORK] Jho Low, the Malaysian financier accused by the US of being the mastermind of one of the largest financial frauds in history, has sought a presidential pardon while he remains a fugitive.

Low, who was charged in 2018 but has evaded arrest, submitted a pardon application to the US Justice Department (DOJ) this year, according to a notice on the DOJ’s website. He’s accused of being the architect of a scheme that syphoned at least US$4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.

Federal prosecutors allege Low, with the help of two former Goldman Sachs bankers, paid about US$2 billion in bribes to foreign officials, including former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Another US$1 billion in kickbacks went to the scheme’s participants, with Low pocketing at least US$1.42 billion, US officials alleged.

Low, whose whereabouts are not known, has publicly proclaimed his innocence.

According to the DOJ website, the request for Taek Jho Low seeks a “Pardon after Completion of Sentence”. The status of his request was “pending”. No other details were available. A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, which prosecuted the 1MDB case, did not immediately return an e-mail and voicemail seeking comment.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night.

Najib has been in prison since 2022 for criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in connection with 1MDB. The 1MDB fraud toppled his Malaysian government and led Goldman to pay more than US$5 billion to settle misconduct claims tied to the convicted bankers.

One of the Goldman bankers, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty and testified at the 2022 trial of former colleague Roger Ng, who was later convicted and ordered to serve a 10-year prison sentence.

Leissner told jurors that Low assured him that US President Donald Trump, during his first term, was directly involved in talks to end the US criminal probe of the 1MDB fraud. Leissner also said Low told him he’d discussed the matter with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser at the time, and had support for a deal in which Low and Leissner would avoid criminal charges over their dealings with 1MDB.

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A source familiar with Kushner’s schedule said that Kushner never met with Low or spoke to him during his time at the White House, Bloomberg News reported in 2022.

Leissner also requested a pardon last year. In February, he reported to federal prison to begin serving a two-year sentence.

Low’s pardon request was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

A lawyer for Low did not immediately return a voicemail and e-mail seeking comment about the request.

Other once-high-flying business people who ran into trouble with the law, including Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes as well as Bill Hwang, the founder of Archegos Capital Management, have also sought presidential clemency. BLOOMBERG