New York (Bloomberg): 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. He's accused of being the architect of a scheme that siphoned at least US$4.5bil from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Federal prosecutors allege that, with the help of two former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bankers, Low paid about US$2bil in bribes to foreign officials, including former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was later imprisoned. Another US$1bil in kickbacks went to the scheme's participants, with Low pocketing at least US$1.42bil, US officials alleged.
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 spokesman for the Brooklyn US Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the 1MDB case, did not immediately return an email or voicemail seeking comment.
The 1MDB fraud toppled the Malaysian government, prompted multiple criminal prosecutions, and led Goldman to pay more than US$5bil 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 Trump, then president, 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 that he had support for a deal in which Low and Leissner would avoid criminal charges over their dealings with 1MDB.
Leissner also requested a pardon last year. In February, he reported to a 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 or email seeking comment about the request. – Bloomberg
