KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Malaysia will pursue Low Taek Jho over more than the US$1 billion (RM4.15 billion) he forfeited to the US Justice Department (DoJ) this week, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
The prime minister told the Financial Times (FT) in an interview that Malaysian authorities were convinced the sum Low or Jho Low surrendered in the US kleptocracy action was not all that was misappropriated from 1MDB.
“The amount [Mr Low embezzled from 1MDB] is much bigger. If he had the full amount we would be very happy.
“We are still going after the rest of the money,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying.
The Malaysian PM also told the FT that the US has indicated that Malaysia could reclaim the sum Low forfeited if it could provide proof of ownership.
The US previously gave Malaysia hundreds of millions it recovered from other kleptocracy action related to 1MDB, including US$57 million surrendered by Red Granite Pictures that is linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz.
The DoJ said the settlement this week represented the largest ever recovery executed under its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative and the biggest civil forfeiture ever concluded in the US.
The law enforcement agencies involved in the case also jointly issued a condemnatory statement about Low, saying the settlement denied him and his family of “ill-gotten gains” and showed the US would not be a “safe haven” for corruption.
The statement also noted that Low still faced criminal charges related to the scandal in two other US districts.
