This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 25, 2022 - July 31, 2022

Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, cannot just return a fraction of the billions that have gone missing from beleaguered 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and expect some kind of respite from the government for his role in causing the fund to go under.

The fact that Jho Low has the audacity to even attempt a settlement — through former Attorney General Tan Sri Apandi Ali — is an insult to Malaysians’ intelligence.

Apandi said that he was approached by the law firm representing Jho Low and he subsequently acted on the matter by reaching out to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC). The AGC flatly rejected the offer, which involved Jho Low paying the Malaysian government RM1.5 billion.

In the 1MDB trials, all fingers have pointed to Jho Low as one of the main perpetrators. What the public at large would expect is to see him being produced in court to face charges. Anything less is not acceptable.

When a theft happens, the thieves cannot just return the money and expect some respite. They have to face the law.

The 1MDB scandal very much affects the pockets of taxpayers. It is already a shame that seven years after the misappropriation of funds in 1MDB was exposed, nobody has really paid the price for the missing money.

In other jurisdictions such as Singapore and Abu Dhabi, the prosecutors have taken action against some of those responsible and put them behind bars. In the US, two ex-Goldman Sachs bankers — Tim Leissner and Roger Ng — are awaiting sentencing for their role in facilitating the transfer of money out of 1MDB.

On July 4, 2018, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was charged with abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving a sum of RM42 million that was transferred into his account from SRC International. Although Najib has been sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million, technically he is still free until his appeal at the Federal Court is heard next month. 

Even after settlement of some RM10.84 billion, 1MDB is still saddled with liabilities of RM32.08 billion as at end-June. This is on top of loans and advances of RM10.85 billion that the government has furnished 1MDB with between April 2017 and May this year so that there is no cross default on all other federal government loans.

At the height of the debacle, 1MDB had debts of more than RM40 billion, which it had amassed less than five years after it was set up in 2009. Notable assets in 1MDB’s books are two pieces of prime land bought from the federal government at favourable prices.

Accounting firms and investment banks that played roles in facilitating the schemes to misappropriate funds from 1MDB have repaid the Malaysian government with RM19.28 billion. The amount recovered is hardly enough to settle 1MDB’s liabilities.

So, anybody who says that taxpayers’ money is not involved in 1MDB is wrong. Taxpayers are already paying for the grand theft at 1MDB and will continue to foot the bill for years to come.

For that, those who are responsible need to be brought back to face the courts. There is no room for negotiation.

Jho Low fled the country on May 29, 2015, less than two months before news broke out that a sum of US$700 million raised by 1MDB for an oil and gas venture with PetroSaudi International had been transferred into his account.

The US$700 million is part of US$1.2 billion that 1MDB invested in a dud joint venture with PetroSaudi in 2009. It was the start of a series of plundering by 1MDB that went on until 2013.

In addition to RM5 billion in ringgit-denominated bonds, 1MDB subsequently raised US$6.5 billion US dollar bonds in three transactions arranged by Goldman Sachs. A large chunk of the money — estimated at US$4.5 billion — was siphoned out to individuals, with Jho Low allegedly the biggest beneficiary.

During Roger Ng’s trial in March this year, US Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Eric Van Dorn testified that Jho Low received US$1.42 billion from the US$6.5 billion raised by 1MDB. According to Van Dorn’s list, Najib was the second biggest beneficiary with US$756 million.

Numerous court testimonies in the 1MDB trials point to Jho Low having Najib’s ear.

Others wanted for the 1MDB fiasco are Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Terrence Goh, Eric Tan Kim Loong, Casey Tang and Jasmine Loo. Tan left the country in April 2015, before Jho Low’s departure. The others fled in the months of April and May 2018, before the general election that saw the Najib led-Barisan Nasional government losing Putrajaya.

Jho Low has been on the Singapore police’s wanted list since 2016. Malaysia only acted to issue an Interpol Red Alert notice in 2018 after the change in government.

Since 2016, the country has had several Inspectors-General of Police. Every one of them has stated that bringing Jho Low back is a priority. But none of them has been able to walk the talk.

How can six people disappear from the face of earth?

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) interviewed Jho Low in Abu Dhabi in November 2015. They managed to catch up with Nik Faisal — twice — in Indonesia. Currently, the US-based legal firm, Kobre & Kim LLP, has some form of contact with Jho Low.

If a legal firm is able to reach out to Jho Low, why is it so difficult for the police or any other authority in Malaysia to nab him and his accomplices?

To save Malaysians the embarrassment, Jho Low and the others should be apprehended and brought back to face charges on our terms. Anything less is unacceptable. 

M Shanmugam is a contributing editor at The Edge

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