PUTRAJAYA, Oct 18 ― Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) can only verify the extent of theft involving 1MDB funds once fugitive financier Low Taek Jho is apprehended.

MACC chief Latheefa Koya said so when asked to verify Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas’s remarks purporting that Low or Jho Low stole over US$10 billion (RM41.8 billion) from the state investment firm that was near impossible to recover.

The figure claimed eclipses the US$4.5 billion previously said to have been misappropriated from 1MDB.

"You’d have to ask him,” Latheefa said to direct the question towards the AG.

"Figures can never be verified until they get Jho Low. For now we can only estimate based on looking at the overall picture of losses.”

Low is presented as the mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, which has already resulted in criminal charges against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The Malaysian businessman is believed to be hiding out in China, from where he continues to direct his business interests in Hong Kong.