PETALING JAYA: Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho should not be granted a pardon but instead be brought back to Malaysia to face further investigations and trial, says Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani (pic).
Johari, who is chairman of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) task force, said he strongly opposes 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 yesterday.
Low, widely known as Jho Low, faces multiple charges, including corruption and money laundering in the United States and Malaysia, over his alleged role in the misappropriation of at least US$4.5bil (RM17.6bil) from 1MDB.
Johari added that he was unaware of any talks involving Low and Malaysia regarding the return of misappropriated assets.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said investigations into the fugitive financier are ongoing despite reports he has tried to get a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
“This issue is still under ongoing investigation. I see matters like this as rather sensitive to discuss,” he added.
Mohd Khalid said the police have maintained good relations with countries relevant to their investigations on the matter.
Government spokesman Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the Jho Low’s issue will be brought up in the next Cabinet meeting.
“This issue came up while the Cabinet was meeting. It will be brought to the Cabinet’s attention next week,” he said.
On whether Putrajaya had been formally notified by US authorities regarding the alleged pardon application, Fahmi said the matter was outside the scope of the Cabinet discussions.
Jho Low, accused by the United States of masterminding one of the largest financial frauds in history, had reportedly sought a pardon from Trump.
Low, who evaded arrest after being charged in 2018, submitted a pardon application to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) this year, according to a notice posted on its website.
The DOJ website lists a pending request for a “Pardon after Completion of Sentence” under Taek Jho Low, filed this year.
If granted, it 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.
Jho Low has consistently denied wrongdoing and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Authorities previously said he was believed to be in hiding in China, although Beijing has denied this.
It was earlier reported that one of the Goldman Sachs bankers, Tim Leissner, who testified in the 1MDB trial of former colleague Roger Ng told jurors that Low had assured him that Trump, during his first term, was directly involved in talks to end the US criminal probe into the 1MDB fraud.
Leissner also said Low told him he had discussed the matter with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and then senior White House adviser.
He claimed there was support for a deal in which Low and Leissner would avoid criminal charges related to 1MDB.
However, a person familiar with Kushner’s schedule said he never met or spoke with Low during his time at the White House, Bloomberg News reported in 2022.
Leissner, who also requested a pardon last year, began serving his two-year prison sentence in February this year.
