This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 7, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: No records have been found showing that Penang-born billionaire Low Taek Jho, more commonly known as Jho Low, has changed his name to Tan Kim Loong or Eric Tan Kim Loong, says the ministry of home affairs.

In a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat to Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar (PKR-Tumpat), the ministry also said that Jho Low remains a Malaysian citizen.

“Based on Malaysian national registration department (JPN) records, the individual named Low Taek Jho has been issued with a birth certificate and MyKad because he was born in Malaysia and is a Malaysian citizen.

“Further reviews found that there were no records of an application for a change of name from Low Taek Jho to Tan Kim Loong or Eric Tan Kim Loong in the identity card issued by the department,” the ministry said in the reply dated Nov 2 which was released to lawmakers yesterday.

“According to travel documents, search results from the Malaysian immigration department shows that Low Taek Jho was issued with a Malaysia international passport,” said the ministry, without disclosing the current whereabouts of Low.

Kamaruddin had asked the ministry whether or not the JPN or the immigration department had issued any identity documents to Low in the name of Tan Kim Loong or Eric Tan Kim Loong.

In early January, during court proceedings against former Falcon Private Bank branch manager Jens Fred Sturzenegger, Singaporean prosecutors revealed that Low, was the one “orchestrating the transactions” in four accounts at the bank although the beneficial owner was one Eric Tan Kim Loong.

A total of US$1.265 billion  flowed into two of the accounts between March 21 and March 25 in 2013. These were facts that formed the 16 charges filed against Sturzenegger.

According to the facts, Sturzenegger had been in communication with the email address [email protected] but later discovered that he was actually corresponding with Low.

When the two met, Low was said to have revealed that he used the name Eric Tan on some occasions for “security” purposes.