Sources in Malaysia insist the news of a US Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal case being prepared against flamboyant Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho – commonly known as Jho Low – is only a rumour.
“The Wall Street Journal or The Journal is making up stories,” said the source.
He said the ‘informants’ for The Journal is no one else but Sarawak Report, adding” “SR was also behind the news saying that the Petronas and Saudi Aramco deal has fallen apart.”
“It is pure hogwash, as the DOJÂ surely have nothing on Low,” said the source to The Independent.
“You know the Petronas-Aramco deal went through, and now they are saying Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak want to sack the Petronas CEO for being against the Aramco deal?”
“This is fake news!”
In a report yesterday, The Journal said U.S. authorities intend to file criminal charges against a financier in connection with an international scandal rooted in Malaysia that they believe could be one of the largest financial frauds ever, according to people familiar with the matter.
The scandal involves a state fund called 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, and the focus of the criminal investigation is Jho Low, a flamboyant financier the U.S. Justice Department portrayed in civil asset-seizure lawsuits in July as central to an alleged plot to siphon billions of dollars from the fund, wrote The Journal.
The civil suits, which are proceeding separately from the criminal probe, seek more than $1 billion of assets, including van Gogh and Monet paintings and luxury real estate in New York and Los Angeles, allegedly bought with stolen money.
In the past, Low has told news organizations he was the victim of political infighting in Malaysia and was only an informal adviser to 1MDB. His family is taking legal action to fight the U.S. asset-seizure lawsuits.