WSJ: US investigating whether Jho Low
paying legal fees via money-laundering
Jho Low. -filepic
NEW YORK: Investigations into the financial dealings of fugitive Malaysian
financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, have intensified in the United
States, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) extending its probe to determine
whether he laundered huge sums of money amounting to tens of millions of dollars
through two associates, and used those funds to pay a US legal team.
The legal team includes former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and a lawyer
who has been representing US President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal
(WSJ) reported on Wednesday.
In its report on the ongoing saga of the 37-year-old billionaire's involvement in the
alleged embezzlement of US$4.5bil (about RM19bil) from 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB), the financial daily pointed out that Malaysian
authorities earlier this week levelled separate money-laundering charges against
Low in the 1MDB case which may be one of the biggest financial frauds in history,
warranting a global corruption probe.
Low has reportedly been moving around in recent months in the Greater China
region, shifting between Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.
Last year and in July 2016, the DOJ filed civil lawsuits at the California federal
court seeking to recover assets from Low and others.
The assets include mansions, artworks and a superyacht, the Equanimity, allegedly
purchased with 1MDB funds.
Low, who has US assets, is now said to be the subject of an international criminal
investigation.
Since 2016, the fugitive's access to the global financial system has been severely
restricted by banks, according to people familiar with the matter, WSJ reported
without, however, attributing the information to any named source.
But the paper says there was no indication that any of the people receiving
payments were aware that the funds could have originated from the money which
Low allegedly siphoned from the 1MDB.
The DOJ is also investigating Low's potential use of two intermediaries to facilitate
the payments through the international financial system, although the department,
officially, has declined to comment.
Christie, one of the lawyers and consultants working for Low, headed Trump's
presidential transition team.
Others in the team are Marc Kasowitz, President Trump's lawyer; Bobby
Burchfield, who served as the Trump Organisation's outside ethics adviser; and Ed
Rogers, a Washington lobbyist with close ties to the Republican Party.
Christie has been representing Low in the cases involving forfeiture of the latter's
assets in California, with WSJ quoting a Christie spokesman who also denied there
was any communication by Christie with any government office on Low's behalf.
Neither had there been any enquiry addressed to him (Christie) by the DOJ with
regard to any other investigation involving funding or otherwise.
A spokesman for Kasowitz Benson Torres, the New York law firm with which
Kasowitz is associated, confirmed with WSJ that the firm represented Low in DOJ
matters.
“Here, as with all of our clients, our job as attorneys is to represent and vindicate
our clients' interests; and here, as with all of our non-pro-bono clients, we are paid
for the legal services we provide,” the spokesman reportedly said in a statement to
the paper.
Burchfield said in an emailed statement to the paper that Low retained his Atlanta-
based firm, King and Spalding, to “advise him on the ongoing investigations,”
adding that the law firm “performed appropriate due diligence on sources of
payment”.
“Further, neither I nor King and Spalding has had contacts with any governmental
entity, directly or indirectly, on behalf of Mr Low, nor has King and Spalding
received any enquiry from the Department of Justice regarding this engagement,”
he added.
WSJ also reports that the DOJ is also investigating whether a Thai businessman,
Phengphian Laogumnerd, and former American rap artiste, Pras Michel, a
founding member of the Fugees hip-hop group, played any role in helping Low
make payments, people familiar with the matter said.
The paper added that for at least a year, these people said that Low had relied on
Phengphian to pay his accommodation expenses in Hong Kong and Macau, legal
and advisory bills and to keep Low's US$250mil (RM1.1bil) superyacht fully
staffed and maintained until it was seized by Indonesian authorities off the resort
island of Bali earlier this year.
DOJ investigators are examining records and money flows related to a series of
companies controlled by Phengphian in Hong Kong and in offshore havens such as
the British Virgin Islands to determine whether Low's money was involved, the paper said.
– Bernama
