Jho Low, a fugitive Malaysian financier wanted in connection with one of the largest financial scandals of the 21st century, has reportedly sought a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday that the request for a pardon “was filed in recent weeks,” citing a number of people familiar with the matter. A Justice Department website lists a pending request for a “Pardon after Completion of Sentence” under the name Taek Jho Low that was filed this year, the WSJ added.
If granted, the pardon would remove U.S. criminal charges against Low, who is accused of masterminding the draining of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a Malaysian state investment fund.
The 1MDB state investment fund was established by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government in 2009. In the ensuing years, U.S. and Malaysian investigators claim, more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates, funds that were concealed within a financial maze of shell companies and dummy corporations.
Chief among these, allegedly, was Low, who prosecutors say used the stolen funds to pay off political patrons and bankroll a series of lavish purchases, including luxury real estate, fine art, and a $250 million superyacht, as well as to buy himself access to Hollywood’s elite. In their 2018 book on the scandal, former Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope describe the pilfering of 1MDB as one of “the greatest financial heists in history.”
The 1MDB scandal helped bring down the government of Najib, who in 2020 was found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering for illegally receiving around $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He began serving a 12-year prison sentence after losing his final appeal in 2022. In December, Najib was sentenced to a further 15 years in prison in a second 1MDB-related trial.
The scandal has also led to criminal investigations in a number of other countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and Singapore, and several others involved in the 1MDB scandal, including Swiss and Singaporean bankers, have been imprisoned.
Low has consistently denied any wrongdoing. An Interpol Red Notice for Low’s arrest was issued in 2018, but his whereabouts are unknown. There have long been rumors that he is hiding out in China, although Beijing denies that he is in the country.
The WSJ reported that Low’s latest efforts to clear himself of criminal charges related to 1MDB “have been underway for more than a year” and that Low told U.S. authorities in his pardon request that he “can help make deals happen.” The paper reported that he took some credit for a recent agreement in which Malaysia returned to the U.S. a Bangladeshi man wanted on child sexual-exploitation charges, although Malaysian authorities deny that he had anything to do with it.
Low has previously been in talks with U.S. and Malaysian authorities about returning hundreds of millions of dollars of 1MDB funds. In October 2019, the U.S. struck a deal with Low to recoup about $700 million in assets, including a private jet and high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York, and London. In 2024, the Justice Department said that it had recovered an additional $100 million in assets from Low.
The WSJ also reported that Malaysia had temporarily lifted its Interpol Red Notice against Low, in a bid to facilitate the recovery of additional assets.
Responding to the WSJ story, Johari Abdul Ghani, the chairman of a Malaysian task force seeking to recover funds and assets linked to 1MDB, said that Low’s request for a presidential pardon should be denied. He said that Washington should instead assist Malaysia in tracking down the fugitive businessman.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m against the pardon,” Johari told local media.
A White House official told the WSJ that Low’s pardon request wasn’t currently on its “radar,” but since taking office for the second time last year, he has signed a number of controversial pardons. Among the beneficiaries so far are Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Trevor Milton, who was convicted of defrauding investors in truck maker Nikola, and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the crypto-fueled black-market Silk Road.
Given the extent to which Trump’s caprice and susceptibility to flattery have created footholds for individuals with checkered pasts, it is no surprise that Low is trying his luck.
