(FeaturedNews.com) – Financier and Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, faces allegations he was the mastermind of a money laundering and bribery scam involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Low, who is now a fugitive, allegedly netted $1.42 billion from the scheme. The testimony from an FBI agent revealed his connection on March 14.
Fugitive financier Jho Low stole $1.42 billion from the 1MDB bond transactions Goldman arranged, an FBI agent who traced the funds testified https://t.co/WnlwhtVwET
— Bloomberg (@business) March 14, 2022
Agent Eric Van Dorn testified in the bribery trial of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker, explaining the money trail he investigated. The agent said others involved also received large sums of money. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak got $756 million, and his stepson Riza Aziz received $238 million. Khadem al-Qubaisi, former managing director of the company who guaranteed the transactions, netted $472.8 million. Roger Ng got $35.1 million, and Tim Leissner, another former Goldman banker, received $73.4 million.
The scheme involved bond transactions for 1MDB arranged by Goldman Sachs. Authorities say Low managed the creation of shell companies and helped his associates move money from the fund into their private accounts. The ill-gotten gains financed movies in Hollywood, bought jewels and art, and invested in luxury real estate.
Low maintains his innocence in the scheme and remains a fugitive from the United States and Malaysia. The US government seized his assets. The Malaysian government and Al Jazeera say Low is in Macau, China, but the Chinese government denies these reports.
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