Arrest warrant issued for Jho Low

PUTRAJAYA - A warrant of arrest has been issued against fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho and two others who have been charged in absentia with engaging in a criminal conspiracy for the commission of an offence by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya said Interpol was alerted after the three individuals were charged.

She said this is so red notices could be issued against Low or better known as Jho Low along with two Petro Saudi directors, Patrick Mahony and Tarek Essam Ahmad Obaid.

"We have filed charges against the three yesterday (Monday) and because they are not in the country, we have sent an alert to Interpol for them to be brought back to face trial.

"This is part of our ongoing recovery-cum-investigation on 1MDB and SRC International. There are efforts by various agencies including MACC to get back the money, " she said to reporters after attending a symposium on "Women, Corruption and Their Role in Fighting It".

MACC had filed the charges against Low, Saudi national Tarek and a British national Mahony before magistrate Mageswary Subramanian at the Kuala Lumpur magistrate court on Monday.

MACC also applied for arrest warrants for them, at the same court.

The three were charged with engaging in a criminal conspiracy for Najib to use his position as prime minister, minister of finance and chairman of the 1MDB advisory board for gratification totalling RM60,629,839.43 (S$20 million).

The offence was committed between Feb 24, 2011 and June 14, 2011 at AmIslamic Bank Berhad at the Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Kuala Lumpur.

​The three were charged under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act 200.

Mahony and Tarek also faced a second charge of money laundering US$300 million (S$416 million).

The two Petro Saudi directors were charged with receiving proceeds of an unlawful activity from 1MDB, which was deposited into an account belonging to 1MDB PetroSaudi Limited.

They were said to have committed the offence at J.P. Morgan (Suisse) SA, 8, rue de la Confederation in Geneva, Switzerland on Sept 30, 2009.

Mahony and Patrick are facing charges under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which carries a fine of not more than RM5 million or jail term of not more than five years or both.