Fugitive Jho Low could be flushed out by coronavirus

Fugitive financier and Cyprus passport holder Jho Low may have been in Wuhan, with Malaysian authorities now on the lookout for his return due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Previously, we did receive intelligence that he was active in Wuhan,” Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, without saying when Low was reported to be in the Chinese city.

“I have told Kuala Lumpur International Airport to monitor if he comes back with Covid-19,” said Bador.

“I would like to tell him that if he has been infected (with Covid-19), come back to Malaysia. For now, the Health Ministry is among the best, they have cured nine people already,” he added.

Malaysia has sought help from Interpol to track down Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, and have him face charges linked over his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal.

He has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Abdul Hamid said there was no indication whether Low might have left China as the virus spread, Wuhan is at the epicentre of the outbreak.

He previously said Low was in a jurisdiction with which Malaysia has an extradition treaty, and that the police were in talks with a party they suspect of protecting him.

Low has been accused of misappropriating funds from 1MDB and of having laundered its assets through financial institutions in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg.

Low was granted a Cypriot passport under the investment scheme but the government has moved to strip him of his of citizenship along with 26 others.

Cyprus has since toughened eligibility rules after pressure from the EU its investment scheme was not transparent. (source agencies)