Pic of Jho Low from FMT
Bank Negara must investigate businessman Low Taek Jho in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, a DAP lawmaker today said.
In a statement today, DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua said Low, who is popularly known as Jho Low, and his associates must be probed for possible money laundering in the acquisition of Utama Banking Group Berhad (UBG) via PetroSaudi International Limited (PSI) using illicitly obtained funds from 1MDB.
“Bank Negara Malaysia, as the competent authority under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLA) and other agencies including the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), must immediately commence investigations into the above highly suspicious transactions for all relevant offences under the Act,” said Pua.
He said Jho Low and his associates, along with his foreign counterparts in PetroSaudi had designed highly sophisticated layering transactions to disguise the audit trail and provide anonymity.
Whistleblower site Sarawak Report had previously revealed that PetroSaudi was acting as a front for Jho Low to siphon money from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The site also provided documents which point to Jho Low as the ‘mastermind’ behind the deals between 1MDB and PetroSaudi (via a joint venture company called 1MDB-Petrosaudi Limited) which saw US$700 million allegedly transferred to a company owned by Jho Low.
“What was more pertinent however, was that some of the documents exposed by the Sarawak Report points towards the fact that funds under PSI were actually controlled by Jho Low and his associates,” said Pua.
PSI is also located at the same address as Good Star Limited – PO Box 1239, Offshore Incorporations Centre, Victoria, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles.
Pua also added that there was a separate “mysterious” Investment Management Agreement which surfaced between PSI and Panama Investment Manager, led by known See Li Lin, a known affiliate of Jho Low’s.
Pua said that the entire complicated structure of the transactions was suspicious and smelled of one designed to conceal the true nature of the utilisation of funds for the acquisition of UBG.
-The Rocket
