ONLY Jho Low would know everything about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal and it is unlikely that Najib Razak knew the full picture, said a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Tom Wright, who in mid-2015 broke the story of the US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) in 1MDB funds transferred into the former prime minister’s account, said only the Penang-born businessman has full knowledge of the “scam” to pilfer billions in taxpayers’ money.

“Only Jho Low has the 360 degree view of what is going on,” Wright said in a telephone interview with BFM radio today.

“It’s hard to know whether Najib knew 100% of what is going on,” he said of the scandal which is now entering its sixth year.

Wright said Jho Low, whose real name is Low Taek Jho, had attempted to get the US administration under President Donald Trump to intervene before the 14th general election.

“But subsequently, developments in Malaysia have been incredible,” he said, adding the government’s priority should be to get Jho Low extradited back to Malaysia to answer questions.

“The question is where is Jho Low? Macau, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Thailand? Will (prime minister) Dr Mahathir will pull strings to get him to come home,” Wright added.

Wright also promoted his book, Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, co-authored by WSJ journalist Bradley Hope, which will be released on September 18.

He said the book will show what drove Low.

“We want to show human moments. Actually telling the story of who is this guy and what motivated him.”

“One thing we didn’t know in the beginning was the Hollywood angle. If you have money like Jho Low, how you break into that?”

“We knew that he hung out with Paris Hilton and Jamie Foxx. We want to show how he got in and became the centre of Hollywood.”

Wright said Low’s friends have since blocked him on WhatsApp, but he still hosted parties as recently as February with celebrities such as Nicole Scherzinger.

“One thing that was really stunning, even at the end, when The Edge began reporting (on discrepancies), Jho Low went on continuing to raise money, using it to buy the Equanimity. He doesn’t give in.”

Publisher Hachette Books describes the book “an epic true-tale of hubris and greed on how a young social climber pulled off one of the biggest financial heists in history – right under the nose of the global financial industry – exposing the shocking secret nexus of elite wealth, banking, Hollywood, and politics.” – May 24, 2018.