THE hunt for wanted businessman Low Taek Jho will continue as there are still 1MDB funds left to be uncovered, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

“From 1Malaysia Development Bhd alone, RM42 billion (was misappropriated). Who took the money? Where is the money?,” he told reporters at a special group interview in conjunction with Pakatan Harapan’s first year in office.

“There is some evidence that Jho Low has taken a lot of money for himself,” he said, using the businessman’s better known monicker.

However, the prime minister said the government is having difficulties in detecting Low as his whereabouts are unknown.

On May 4, Dr Mahathir said he was hopeful that Malaysia will at least be able to recover a total of US$7 billion (RM28.95 billion) stolen from 1MDB.

The United States is preparing to return US$200 million misappropriated from the fund. Low faces trial in Malaysia in connection with the 1MDB scandal. He is believed to be hiding in China.

Last month, China’s ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian said Beijing was “always ready” to restart the search for Low should new information surface.

He said the search, which was requested by Malaysia after Pakatan Harapan took over the federal government, had been met with failure several times.

“I don’t know if Jho Low is in China. Chinese police have attached importance to the request.

“Based on the information provided by the Malaysian side… we have carried out a very thorough and detailed search (for Low), but sorry to say, he has not been found,” he had said. – May 6, 2019.