BEIJING (April 28): Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says he did not ask the Chinese government to search for fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, during his official meeting with Chinese leaders here last week.
He told reporters this during a media briefing today on the conclusion of his five-day official visit here. Dr Mahathir, who is here to attend the Second Belt & Road Forum, met with China’s president Xi Jinping and the country’s premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.
Before the prime minister’s arrival in Beijing, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian told the media that China is always ready to restart its search for Low in China if there is new information.
Low has been described by investigating authorities as the central figure in the controversial 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal that has put former prime minister Datuk Sri Najib Razak in the accused dock in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. Low was mentioned on the fourth day of Najib’s trial in relation to the missapproriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, however, claimed that the former prime minister is the victim of a conspiracy by “Jho Low and gang”.
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