Jho Low and four others are wanted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for investigations into allegations that as much as US$4.5 billion was siphoned from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015.
Last week, the commission requested Jho Low to come forward to assist in investigations into SRC International, a previous subsidiary of 1MDB.
The commission also asked former SRC managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil Nik Othman, 47, to help with investigations, while urging mystery man Tan Kim Loong, who is alleged to be the signatory for numerous bank accounts overseas, where billions of ringgit originating from 1MDB were laundered, to also assist.
The accounts included that of Tanore Finance at Falcon Bank in Singapore, through which RM2.6 billion (US$681 million) was allegedly transacted to and from Najib Razak’s AmBank account.
Along with Tan, the commission has also called for 1MDB investment director Tang Keng Chee, former general counsel of 1MDB Loo Ai Swan, and Jho Low’s friend Geh Choh Heng to help in investigations.
Muhyiddin had previously said the authorities had sufficient information to identify Jho Low as one of the main culprits behind the 1MDB scandal.
A lawyer, N Sivananthan, said that Low could likely have sought immunity from criminal prosecution in exchange for providing information to the task force investigating the state investor.
Sivananthan said he believed that this would have been unacceptable to Malaysia as it did not want the principal offender to go scot free.
“In good conscience, he must face trial as he is the main culprit who was directly involved in the missing 1MDB funds,” he told FMT.
Sivananthan said this in response to a Wall Street Journal report that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had rejected an offer for Malaysian investigators to interview Jho Low in Dubai.
Lawyer: You can’t give immunity to Jho Low as he is ‘principal offender’