It seems that no matter how much 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) or Jho Low wants the scandal to be over and done with, new information just keeps on surfacing.
In the latest development on the scandal, it was reported that Jho Low had planned to buy a Barbados bank so that he could use it to store his ill-gotten gains there. Wow, slow clap for you!
Source: Finance QQ
Wall Street Journal (WSJ) revealed leaked emails on Friday between Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) ambassador to the US who is linked to Low and his business partner Shaher Awartani.
In the emails, Low said he considered buying a bank using a company that Al Otaiba and Awartani owned as the official buyer as he wanted to use the bank for a place to store his funds and assets.
Source: WSJ
The emails detailed other shady financial dealings where Low said that he would pay Al Otaiba and Awartani an exorbitant sum of money if he could secure Park Lane Hotel in New York on that day itself. Apparently, Low had a 55% stake in the building and he sold part of it to Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala Development.
Source: Real Politik Asia
In that particular email, that was when he revealed his plans of buying the Barbados bank to his cronies as he “felt compelled to buy a bank as a parking spot for his funds, as well as friends & family.”
But through this whole 1MDB saga, Low feels that he has done no wrong and he is cleaner than a whistle. According to WSJ, a representative for Low said that he stresses he is innocent,
“Mr. Low is confident that when the appropriate and impartial legal tribunals are presented with the actual facts, it will be clear that this case is deeply flawed and an example of vast overreach by certain authorities. This shows a reliance on improperly obtained and selectively leaked, unauthenticated information to support a politically motivated and unproven narrative. This creates a biased and inaccurate picture.”
Source: Twitter
Not only that, a WSJ reporter known as Bradley Hope also mentioned in a tweet that the shady tycoon had condemned the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) actions after they filed a civil suit to recover assets that were reportedly bought using the funds siphoned off 1MDB. We beg to differ, Jho!
Major celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Miranda Kerr were recipients of luxurious gifts from Low and their gifts were listed in the suit as well. However, they have since stated that they are cooperating fully with DoJ and have returned the gifts to DoJ.
Source: Singtao
Meanwhile, DoJ also said that Low had used the same source of funds to lavish gifts to the wife of Malaysian Official No. 1, which includes a 22-carat pink diamond necklace worth an eye-watering US$27.3 million (RM117 million). But there has been no news whether this jewellery has been returned.
In the meantime, just think of what that amount of money could do for our beloved country. 🙁
Also read: Miranda Kerr Hands Over Her RM34.7 Million Jewelleries to DoJ
