RECENT news of the arrest of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho are fake, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Pakatan Harapan chairman said that he had not directly heard of Low’s purported arrest in China.

“Somebody said he was arrested, but I received no information. It’s fake news,” he said after the Bersatu Supreme Council meeting in Petaling Jaya today.

News of Low’s arrest came from a Hong Kong radio station and was reported by UK-based website Sarawak Report yesterday.

Malaysia issued a warrant of arrest for Low in early June as the new government under Dr Mahathir swiftly reopened investigations into the misappropriation of 1Malaysia Development Bhd funds.

Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun has refuted the news of Low’s arrest, saying the central figure in 1MDB’s scandals is still at large.

Fuzi said earlier today that the police was working with the Chinese authorities to trace Low.  An Interpol red notice has been issued on the fugitive financier.

Low is one of the key figures wanted by Malaysian authorities to assist in investigations into 1MDB.

The US Department of Justice has named him as the mastermind behind the siphoning of billions from the state investor.

Low, a close confidante of former prime minister Najib Razak, hails from Penang and is believed to have recently fled from Macau. – July 20, 2018.