(Newswire.net — October 30, 2019) — A reliable source has broken news of a deal between Malaysian financier Jho Low, and the United States. It is the latest chapter in the 1MDB financial scandal and marks the largest ever settlement of its kind for the US government.
The scandal saw the former prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, run a state fund called 1MDB that siphoned off billions to individuals including himself. Once the corruption was uncovered, it resulted in a toppled government, an in-debt country, and sparked international investigations.
Low, who was widely considered involved in the 1MDB scandal, has been in hiding with his whereabouts unknown for several years. While news of this settlement comes as a surprise, sources say Low and the US Department of Justice have been in good faith discussions for quite some time now leading up to this deal.
The deal includes Low recouping almost $1 billion to the U.S. in exchange for the government dropping civil, criminal, and administrative actions or proceedings relating to the Malaysian Financier. Sources stress that it is in no way an admission of guilt, in fact, Low has been granted asylum in the U.S. with other countries expecting to follow suite.
This marks a major victory for the Department of Justice. Not only does the settlement save time and resources, but Low’s cooperation is bound to assist in the ongoing Goldman Sachs settlement discussions and aid in fully recovering all stolen proceeds.
The news may be received differently in Malaysia. The chief of police has been actively hunting down Jho Low in an attempt to bring him home and force him to stand trial and the government has been vocal about their desire to locate Low. However, this deal could be majorly beneficial to Malaysia too.
The U.S. is bound to repatriate a hefty sum of the assets from this settlement back to Malaysia. The country, which is still suffering from debts accrued by the 1MDB scandal, would greatly benefit from these funds.
If Malaysia decides to respect the decision by the U.S. and the greater international community, it could also open a dialog between the Malaysian government and Low which would assist in the Najib Razak trial as well as the settlement between Malaysia and Goldman Sachs.
There will be many crinkles to smoothen out first, including a Malaysian society that is thirsty for Low to be given a guilty verdict. Nevertheless, if the Pakatan Harapan government are able to have long-sighted vision, they could possibly see this settlement as step in the right direction.