.jpg "A poster detailing the launch of the 'Billion Dollar Whale' is pictured at the entrance of Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur on September 17, 2018. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Wall Street Journal’s Tom Wright told Low Taek Jho the Billion Dollar Whale took years to produce, after the fugitive financier began a campaign to discredit the book chronicling his alleged role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.
The billionaire also known as Jho Low and the titular “whale” of the title suggested on his website yesterday that Wright and co-author Bradley Hope were motivated by sales and profit in penning the book launched globally today.
Low further insinuated that the book was rushed to take advantage of recent developments and claimed the narrative was intentionally skewed to highlight his playboy lifestyle rather than illuminate his part in the global financial scandal.
“Hastily published? It was three years of our lives! @bradleyhope #BillionDollarWhale” Wright wrote on Twitter in response to a New Straits Times article on Low’s remarks.
Wright will be in Kuala Lumpur on September 25 to promote the book at the Kinokuniya bookstore in KLCC.
Low relaunched his personal website this week in an attempt to tell his side of the 1MDB saga and discredit recent books on the scandal including the Billion Dollar Whale, which lawyers believed to represent him have tried to force off bookshelves by way of legal threats.
Low remains wanted in Malaysia where he has outstanding arrest warrants issued to the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal.
He steadfastly denies any wrongdoing in relation to the state investment firm, insisting his involvement ended with the Terengganu Investment Authority prior to its rebranding as 1MDB by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
