Malaysian police authorities formally charged billionaire fugitive businessman Jho Low with money laundering on Friday, saying that the charges would facilitate his arrest overseas.
Simultaneously, a court in the country issued arrest warrants for both Low and his father, who are accused of being connected to the controversial 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal that saw billions of US dollars disappear.
Low now faces eight charges of money laundering while his father, Low Hock Peng, faces one.
The charges cover approximately USD260 million in funds that Low is accused of receiving between December 2013 and June 2014. His father is accused of transferring $56.5 million to his son in February 2014.
Each account of money laundering carries a maximum fine of approximately USD1.2 million, a jail term of up to five years, or both.
Low, who was last said to be seeking refuge in mainland China after fleeing Hong Kong and Macau in turn, has proved difficult to track down. Malaysian police authorities said on Friday that the charges would help pressure other countries into extraditing Low, but did not specify whether or not they were referring to mainland China.
Cited by the Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson for the Malaysian billionaire said that Low maintains his innocence. He is refusing to accept extradition back to Malaysia as it is “where his guilt has been predetermined by politics” and where he would not receive a fair trial.
Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that he believed Low was “probably in China” but admitted that he did not raise the issue during his recent state visit to Beijing.
China’s Foreign Ministry said that they have no information on the case but were willing to cooperate with Malaysia on such judicial matters.
The 1MDB, a state development fund established in 2009, is embroiled in a scandal that saw billions of dollars go missing, and partly led to the downfall of the Malaysian government.
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