SINGAPORE (Jan 10): Low Taek Jho remains a wanted man by Singapore, confirmed a Singapore Police Force spokesman on Jan 10.
This confirmation is made after The Straits Times published an extensive interview where Low maintains that he was merely an intermediary of the 1MDB-related fund flows and not the mastermind as he is alleged to be.
Jho Low, as he is better known, was put on the Interpol Red Notice by Singapore back in October 2016, after investigations commenced on 1MDB-related fund flows involving Singapore-based banks.
Besides Low, a similar Red Notice was out for one Tan Kim Loong, known to be a close associate of Low, and whose name was used to open accounts with Falcon Bank, the defunct private bank used to launder the money siphoned from 1MDB.
“The charges, warrants of arrest and INTERPOL Red Notices against Low and Tan remain in force. Both remain key persons of interest to Singapore in ongoing 1MDB-related investigations,” the spokesperson says.
Singapore’s Interpol Red Notice on Low was made public only in July 2018. That’s after the South China Morning Post reported that Low was able to leave Hong Kong for Macau, as there’s no request for assistance to detain Low.
According to Singapore police then, such a request to their Hong Kong counterparts was made, but denied.
Besides Malaysia and Singapore, Low is also the subject of criminal probes in other jurisdictions, with active investigations into possible money-laundering and other offences pertaining to 1MDB-related fund flows.