PETALING JAYA: Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho should not be granted a pardon but brought back to Malaysia to face further investigation and trial, says Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
Johari, who is also the 1MDB chairman task force, said he is strongly against granting Jho Low a pardon.
"I am strongly against it. He should be brought back to Malaysia for further investigation and trial," he said when contacted on Wednesday (May 13).
Low, widely known as Jho Low, faces multiple charges, including corruption and money laundering in the United States and Malaysia, for his alleged role in the misappropriation of at least US$4.5bil from 1MDB.
Jho Low, the fugitive Malaysian financier accused by the United States of masterminding one of the largest financial frauds in history, has asked President Donald Trump for a pardon.
Low, charged in 2018 but who has evaded arrest, submitted a pardon application to the US Justice Department this year, according to a notice on the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) website.
Jho Low has consistently denied wrongdoing, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Low recently filed a request for a pardon that, if granted, would remove US criminal charges against him, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
A White House official said Low’s request was not currently on the White House’s radar, the report said.
Authorities have previously said Low was believed to be in China, though Beijing has denied it.
