Jho Low asks Trump for mercy as fugitive financier behind $4.5 billion 1MDB scandal seeks to erase US charges
Jho Low, the purported mastermind behind the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, has requested a pardon from Donald Trump, according to a US Department of Justice filing.
As FT reports, the fugitive Malaysian financier, who US prosecutors charged in 2018 with conspiring to launder billions of dollars of embezzled funds, made the request this year, according to a document from the Office of the Pardon Attorney. The request is marked as “pending”.
The looting of Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund was described by a prosecutor in court last year as “the biggest financial crime in world history”.
US authorities alleged that Low, who was known for attending lavish celebrity parties, masterminded schemes that siphoned at least $4.5bn from the fund.
They have accused him of conspiring to launder cash embezzled from the fund and of conspiring to violate bribery laws.
Low remains at large and has maintained his innocence. Lawyers for Low could not be reached for comment.
A White House official said: “President Trump is the ultimate decider on any clemency-related actions. The pending status on the DOJ website simply reflects that someone has chosen to submit an application, as anyone is free to do.”
The Department of Justice declined to comment.
Trump has made extensive use of his pardon power since returning to office, applying it to figures including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao.
The 1MDB affair ultimately brought down former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who was convicted and sentenced to prison, and ensnared some of the world’s biggest banks across the US, Europe and Asia, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.
Goldman Sachs admitted to paying more than $1bn in bribes to obtain underwriting work and paid billions of dollars in settlements over the scandal.
Tim Leissner, the disgraced former Goldman banker at the centre of the 1MDB scandal, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges. He had also asked for a pardon, the FT reported in January.
JPMorgan agreed to pay $330mn to Malaysia’s government last year to settle claims related to its role in the scandal without admitting liability.
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