WASHINGTON: Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, widely known as Jho Low and now a fugitive, has sought a pardon from United States (US) President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday (May 12).
The request was filed in recent weeks, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with the matter, and if granted would remove US criminal charges against him.
A Justice Department website lists a pending request for a “Pardon after Completion of Sentence” under Taek Jho Low that was filed this year, the report said.
A White House official said Low’s request was not currently on the White House’s radar, WSJ added.
Bloomberg on Wednesday also reported on Low’s pardon bid, citing the notice on the Justice Department website. Bloomberg said that a spokesman for the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the 1MDB case, did not immediately respond to its queries.
Low is accused of being the architect behind the siphoning of US$4.5 billion from Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB in a globe-spanning scheme between 2009 and 2014.
Low had helped former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak set up 1MDB to promote economic development.Â
Najib was jailed in 2022 after being found guilty of 1MDB-linked corruption and money laundering.
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