KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 ― Bukit Aman is seeking the public’s help to track down fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho’s parents, his close associate Eric Tan Kim Loong and a Singaporean fashion designer allegedly favoured by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor previously.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun released the names of the four wanted individuals along with their pictures and last known addresses.
He said the four are wanted to assist in investigations over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal in relation to money-laundering offences.
Low Taek Jho, a 37-year-old Penangite otherwise known as Jho Low, is a key figure wanted over his role in an alleged scheme to defraud the Malaysian government of millions of dollars, possibly billions, through 1MDB dealings.
The four names listed by Bukit Aman include Low’s father Tan Sri Low Hock Peng, 66 who is otherwise known as Larry Low, as well as Low’s mother Goh Gaik Ewe or Evelyn Goh also aged 66.
Both their last known addresses were stated to be at Tanjung Bungah Park in Penang.
Both Low father and son were slapped with money-laundering charges at the Sessions Court in Putrajaya last August over involving alleged 1MDB funds, and were already wanted by the police then. The charges were filed in absentia.
The elder Low had one charge of money-laundering over his alleged transfer of US$56 million to Jho Low, while the latter has a long-list of money-laundering charges and also multiple other charges spanning several different cases in relation to 1MDB.
This appears to be the first that the authorities have mentioned Jho Low’s mother. She has not been charged with any 1MDB-linked crimes in Malaysia.
Fellow Malaysian Tan Kim Loong, 40, with a last known address of Taman Pusat Kepong in Kuala Lumpur was listed as well.
Tan, who has been dubbed “Fat Eric” or “Eric Tan”, has been described in news reports as Jho Low’s most trusted aide and had acted as the his proxy in multiple financial transactions involving 1MDB money.
Tan was also charged in absentia jointly with Jho Low last December over a transaction involving US$126 million in losses that was linked to medium term bonds for the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) in May 2009. TIA was the east coast state fund that later became 1MDB.
Last June, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission released Tan’s photos along with three others to seek their assistance in the probe on 1MDB, while the police had also last year said Tan was being sought along with others who had fled abroad to face charges in court here.
A Rosmah favourite?
Bukit Aman is also looking for Singaporean designer Shabnam Naraindas Daswani, popularly known as Natasha Mirpuri, with a given address at Parkstone Road in Singapore.
Mirpuri, who will be turning 55 this November, was previously claimed in 2015 by whistleblower site Sarawak Report (SR) to be Rosmah’s “shopping guru” who helped her to “procure multi-million dollar purchases of jewellery and luxury goods”.
Rosmah is the wife of then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Among other things, SR had in the 2015 report also claimed that Jho Low had funded Rosmah’s shopping sprees by banking in cash to Mirpuri’s bank account.
SR had also claimed that Mirpuri’s main client was Rosmah, with Mirpuri allegedly providing personal shopping services at Rosmah’s home in Kuala Lumpur.
SR had then claimed reliable insider information of Low helping to finance the lavish wedding of Rosmah and Najib’s daughter through Mirpuri.
In June 2015, Rosmah’s then personal aide Datuk Rizal Mansor rubbished the report by SR as being untrue, confirming to Malay Mail then that Mirpuri is among one of Rosmah’s favourite clothing designers.
Rizal had also in the past defended Rosmah against suspicion of how the then prime minister and his wife could have afforded such a grand wedding for their daughter, by saying that the event was funded by the groom’s family.
What to do if you see them?
Bukit Aman today called on the public to contact Supt Foo Wei Min (03-26101402) or DSP Albany Hamzah (019-2412826) from the police’s anti-money laundering investigation team or any nearest police station if they have information on or knew any of the four individuals.
