KUALA LUMPUR: Claims that Jho Low entered Malaysia with a Chinese delegation to discuss repayments linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal have been denied by the Finance Ministry.
“I deny it. I deny the allegation,” Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday after Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman pressed him to respond to reports by Sarawak Report and The Wall Street Journal.
The reports alleged that the fugitive financier, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, had returned to Malaysia to negotiate matters related to 1MDB repayments.
Syed Saddiq argued that if such talks had taken place, they would have involved the Finance Ministry, as any repayments would have been channelled into accounts under its management, and pressed Liew for an answer.
Earlier, Liew told the Dewan Rakyat that as of June 30, the government had paid RM42.5bil in 1MDB-related debts and commitments, covering principal, interest, legal costs, operational expenses and other obligations.
He said the government also remained liable for RM8.9bil in government-guaranteed Islamic Medium-Term Notes, comprising RM5bil in principal and RM3.9bil in interest, which are due to mature in 2039.
“This brings the government’s total past and remaining 1MDB liabilities to RM51.4bil.
“The government has recovered RM31.3bil in 1MDB-linked funds so far, leaving an estimated net liability of RM20.1bil if no further assets or funds are recovered,” he said.
Liew said recovery efforts are ongoing through criminal prosecutions and civil suits against Low, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, as well as Tarek Obaid, Patrick Mahony and several international financial institutions allegedly linked to the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman said investigations involving Low remain ongoing.
“It has never been closed. That is my response,” he said when asked to comment on reports concerning Low.
Later, at a press conference held at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, Abd Halim said several people, including the wife of a former prime minister, could be called in to assist a probe into a luxury property in the United States allegedly linked to 1MDB.
He added that the commission is also investigating the identity of the owner of an online portal account that published allegations related to the case.
“We are also scrutinising the documents circulated together with the allegations to determine whether they are genuine,” he said.
It was previously reported that Rosmah had lodged a police report over allegations linking her to the matter.
She said the claims circulating online were false and intended to damage her reputation, denying any involvement in the use of shell companies or offshore financial structures, or any connection to the people and entities named in a viral video on the matter.
