Jho Low

Born

1981-11-04

Birthplace

George Town, Penang, Malaysia

Biography

Low Taek Jho (born 4 November 1981), often called Jho Low, is a Malaysian businessman and international fugitive, wanted by authorities in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB scandal). He has been named the mastermind of the massive fraud, which prosecutors allege was a scheme to siphon US$4.5 billion from 1MDB into Low's personal accounts. He is the beneficiary of numerous discretionary trust assets said by the US government to originate from payments out of the Malaysian 1MDB fund. Low has maintained his innocence and contends that Malaysian authorities are engaging in a campaign of harassment and political persecution due to his prior support of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose part in the 1MDB scandal had led to Najib being convicted on seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust. Low supported Riza Aziz (step-son to Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak) in the establishment of Red Granite Pictures, a Hollywood production company responsible for films including Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To. Recovery of the rights in both movies was the subject of actions for recovery by the US Government in 2013 and 2016. The claims were settled in August 2018, with the settlement stipulating that the payment should not be construed as "an admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of Red Granite".