Low Taek Jho, wanted in Malaysia and Singapore and described by US prosecutors as orchestrating the theft of US$4.5 billion from 1MDB, proclaimed his innocence on his website launched today.
“With hindsight I may have done things differently, like any young person, but any mistakes I made do not amount to the sweepingly broad and destructive allegations being made against me,” Low, 36, said in a signed letter on the site.
“Let me be clear: I am innocent.”
Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, is described as a “global philanthropist, investor and entrepreneur” on the website. He’s been charged in absentia with money laundering and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on him to return to Malaysia to help with the probe.
“I have been paraded in effigy through the streets of Kuala Lumpur and photographs from my younger days plastered in tabloids across the globe,” Low wrote.
“I only ask that everyone – courts, prosecutors and the general public – keep an open mind until all of the evidence comes to light.”