Jho Lo 1 Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB, was
led by Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman, international fugitive, and fraudster.
He’s the guy who moved $4 and a half billion dollars from the company’s fund and into
his personal accounts.
A-List Life Low lived in the lap of luxury, with his pockets
funded by the people of Malaysia.
He bought his way into the Hollywood A-List by giving extravagant gifts to the rich and
famous in exchange for their exclusive company.
He even purchased a $325,000 white Ferrari for Kim Kardashian and her then-husband, Kris
Humphries, as a wedding gift in 2011.
Kardashian and Humphries fought over the sports car in divorce court, but in the end, neither
one could keep it because it was bought using stolen money from the Malay people.
Low had a long list of celebrity benefactors, including Swizz Beats, Pras Michél, and Nicole
Scherzinger.
He bought prized paintings by Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michael Basquiat for Leonardo DiCaprio.
He contributed nearly $240 million to fund the "Wolf of Wall Street" in 2012.
DiCaprio went on to thank Low in his acceptance speech for best actor at the 2014 Golden Globes.
Low also gave $8 million worth of diamond jewelry to Miranda Kerr.
Low was also known to take his celebrity guests to casinos and hand them chips.
At a casino in Las Vegas, he gave $250,000 worth of chips to Paris Hilton.
When Low's scams came to light, the DOJ required all his celebrity friends to turn over their
gifts, which they did without question.
1MDB
1MDB was a strategic development company run by the Minister of Finance in Malaysia.
It was designed to fund long-term economic development projects by partnering with global
markets in the tourism, real estate, agribusiness, and energy industries.
Instead of financing Malaysia's economic future, corrupt officials used the money to purchase
mega-yachts and international homes while funding Hollywood films.
Millions also flowed to former Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal account.
Malaysians have diverse ancestry, often descending from Malay, Indian, and Chinese heritage.
1MDB was established to unify this varied heritage through a high-quality job market
for all Malaysians in green energy and tourism.
Low promised Prime Minister Razak an added benefit: funds would also be used for financing
his reelection campaign.
On the surface, 1MDB appeared dedicated to corporate and social responsibility.
Funds came from offshore Middle Eastern markets, and in turn, Malaysia became a valuable ally
in Asia.
1MDB began as the Terengganu Investment Authority or TIA in 2008 by Ahmad Said to benefit the
economy of the Terengganu state within Malaysia.
Jho Low served as special advisor to the organization, which became a federal entity in 2009 when
the Minister of Finance acquired TIA.
It changed its name to 1MDB.
1MDB got into hot water with the Malaysian Parliament over the company's apparent lack
of financial transparency and "no appointed auditor."
Between September 2009 and March 2010, the company made a suspiciously large profit of
425 million Malaysian Ringgit, or $140 million, which raised further questions about sketchy
accounting.
Some suspected the profit came from asset injections from the Malaysian government,
given that Prime Minister Razak was 1MDB's advisory board chairman.
Though 1MDB said that all activity was well-audited and available on its website, the company
suspiciously switched auditors three times from 2009 to 2013.
By 2015, the company had over $12 billion in debt.
Major newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, alleged that 1MDB was being used
to steal funds from the Malaysian government and transfer it to the personal accounts of
Prime Minister Razak and his associates, including Jho Low.
The company denied the allegations, but in July 2020, Razak was found guilty of criminal
breach of trust and money laundering.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a $49 million fine.
The Department of Justice wants Low in connection to the crimes.
Spending Big
Besides buying gifts for celebrities, Low spent money on lavish gifts for himself.
He bought a $250 million 300-foot mega-yacht called Equanimity.
He purchased millions of dollars worth of prime real estate throughout the United States
and England, including a $33 million penthouse in Trump Tower and another in a swanky Beverly
Hills hotel.
He started a charitable branch of his father's company, Jynwel Capital, called the Jynwel
Foundation, to finance schools, hospitals, and community centers.
But most of his philanthropic giving began after the 1MDB scandal, arousing suspicions
that money he donated was stolen from the company.
Mastermind Low, the son of a wealthy Chinese businessman
in Malaysia, is the youngest of three children.
He attended prestigious schools, including Harrow boarding school in the UK, Winston
Churchill's alma mater, and Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
His privileged background introduced him to elite families, like the King of Jordan's
son, Saudi royalty, and the stepson of Prime Minister Razak, Riza Aziz.
During his time at Wharton, Low founded the Wynton Group, backed by $25 million of startup
funding from family and friends, a fortune not many have during their undergraduate education.
After graduation, he moved to New York.
He began managing money for family and friends, then started investing in bigger deals such
as purchasing luxury high-rise buildings in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
He was appointed special advisor to TIA in 2009, which later became 1MDB, and benefitted
from the Middle Eastern financial connections he previously established.
Dealmaking Low got involved with 1MDB when he advised
them to accept a deal for 5 billion Malaysian Ringgit, or about $1.1 billion.
On May 27, 2009, the formerly named TIA signed the deal to raise funds by issuing Islamic
medium-term notes or five to 10-year loans.
The Terengganu state government advised against this deal, but Low told the company to proceed
with the agreement.
In the meantime, Low was brokering deals left and right.
He arranged for the Minister of Finance to acquire TIA and rename it 1MDB.
Low was instrumental in investments in energy companies, including PetroSaudi holdings,
Segregated Portfolio Company, and SRC Group.
He also brokered real estate deals with land holdings in Malaysia and the Middle East.
Low became close with Prime Minister Razak's stepson, Riza Aziz, in college.
Aziz laid the foundation for Low's business partnership with Razak, and in turn, Low funded
Aziz's new production company, Red Granite Pictures.
The company was created in 2010 and was bankrolled by money from the 1MDB.
A lawsuit in California claims that Low helped divert $238 million from 1MDB into Red Granite
Pictures in 2012.
The money helped fund the upcoming film, "Wolf of Wall Street," a story that depicts how
too much wealth landed real-life Wall Street investor Jordan Belfort in hot water.
The irony is that Low probably could have taken a few notes from Belfort's failed investments.
"Wolf of Wall Street" was nominated at the Oscars in 2014, and Red Granite threw a lavish
party in Cannes, France, with a performance by Kanye West.
A U.S. civil filing showed that the money was moved from 1MDB through Aabar Investments
to Red Granite Pictures, even though the production company denies any wrongdoing.
Low was also heavily involved in electioneering in Malaysia by funding the Prime Minister's
2013 reelection campaign and organizing free pro-government concerts in his hometown of
Malaysia, featuring Busta Rhymes and Ludacris.
He tried to influence American politics as well when in 2012, he tried to use stolen
1MDB money to indirectly transfer funds to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Failed Proposal Low made headlines when he proposed to Taiwanese
pop star Elva Hsiao in Abu Dhabi.
The couple emerged from a Rolls Royce at the luxurious Atlantis Hotel and stepped onto
a beach lit by candles with a woman playing the harp.
A single dinner table was set up on the beach for dinner, opposite a sign declaring Jho's
love for Elva.
Two parachutes appeared overhead.
Two men in tuxedos landed on the beach carrying boxes of priceless Chopard necklaces.
There was a fireworks display, and it was all recorded on video by a wedding planner
in Dubai.
But the two did not end up getting engaged, and the press had a field day over Elva's
rejection of Low.
Top Corruption Former Malaysian Prime Minister Razak was
the first to face the wrath of the justice system.
In May 2018, Razak lost the general election to Mahathir Mohamad, who unexpectedly won
after reopening the investigation regarding the billions of dollars stolen from 1MDB.
In the summer of 2018, Razak was charged with money laundering, criminal breach of trust,
and abuse of power related to his involvement in 1MDB.
He allegedly stole 42 million Ringgit, approximately $10.14 million, which flowed into his personal
bank account.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied any wrongdoing.
He was arrested in September 2018 for a $627.79 million deposit into his personal bank account.
In various civil lawsuits, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed that 1MDB laundered more
than $4.5 billion through complex transactions and shell companies, some of which went into
Razak's bank account.
Razak claimed that most of this money was donated to him from Saudi Arabia and was returned.
Singapore, Switzerland, the United States, and other countries investigated 1MDB over
money laundering and corruption.
In July 2020, Razak was found guilty of scandal and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and
a $49 million fine.
Tim Leissner, former Goldman Sachs employee and Southeast Asia chairman, pled guilty to
his role in the scam.
Goldman Sachs earned $600 million in fees from bond sales for 1MDB.
Like Low, Leissner was known for his life of luxury, complete with celebrity parties
and his marriage to a fashion designer.
He was indicted in June 2017 by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Several other organizations were implicated in the scandal, including the London law firm
Clyde & Co, which held $330 million for 1MDB in a bank account in London.
The Malaysian government also filed lawsuits against Low's former associates and 1MDB executives
Jasmine Loo and Casey Tang for 9.3 million Malaysian Ringgit acquired through taxes.
1MDB was declared insolvent due to its inability to pay back its debts.
Low disappeared in August of 2017.
He was last seen on his superyacht on the coast of the Cambodian island of Koh Rong
Sanloem.
He remains on the run as an international fugitive and retains innocence against any
charges brought against him.
He is the target of an Interpol red notice, which means that local authorities must detain
him if found in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, China, or Hong
Kong.
It is not an arrest warrant but rather a wanted notice.
If found in one of the member countries, Low will be extradited to Malaysia to await trial.
US DOJ
The United States Department of Justice went after Low and filed charges against him for
his role in the 1MDB scam.
In August 2021, the United States recovered and returned $1.2 billion of the misused funds
to the people of Malaysia.
Several other countries have joined in on lawsuits to recover and return the stolen
money.
In October 2019, Low settled with the U.S. government.
But a criminal case against Low is still ongoing.
In 2021, he was charged by a federal grand jury for trying to bribe the Trump administration
to drop the FBI's investigation into Low and 1MDB.
On his now-defunct website, Low maintained that he is not guilty of the money laundering
charges brought against him.
Billion Dollar Whale A book published in 2018 called Billion Dollar
Whale, written by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, details the origins
of the 1MDB corruption scandal, including Low's rise to power and lavish spending.
Low posted official statements on his website in response to the book, saying that his guilt
was "predetermined" by politics.
Low believes the book is based on gossip and allegations instead of factual evidence.
If that were true, he wouldn't be hiding out on his superyacht, now would he?
It remains to be seen what will happen to Low when he is found and brought to justice.
But just like Jordan Belfort, he won't be getting away with it.
DeCaprio probably doesn't want to depict him either.
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