PENANG-BORN Low Taek Jho will be charged in absentia at four separate courts at the Kuala Lumpur court complex today in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.

Also to be charged in absentia are Tang Keng Chee, Loo Ai Swan, Geh Choh Heng and Tan Kim Loong, believed to be close associates of the businessman now hiding in China.

Low, better known as Jho Low, will be jointly charged with Tan in Sessions Court 6. He will also be charged separately in three other Sessions Courts.

Low is wanted for various offences linked to 1MDB.

Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Low in absentia, along with two former Goldman Sachs bankers – Ng Chong Hwa and Tim Leissner – over the 1MDB scandal.

Ng was arrested in Malaysia and is fighting extradition to the US while Leissner pleaded guilty and agreed to pay US$43.7 mil (RM182.27 million) in restitution of ill-gotten gains.

Low and the two bankers were charged with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from 1MDB and conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Low maintained his innocence through a statement released by a public relations firm based in Sydney, Australia. He asked the public to keep an open mind regarding the case until all the evidence comes to light as he believed that he would be vindicated.

Tang, Loo, Geh and Tan have been on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s wanted list for a long time.

In June, MACC released the photographs of the four individuals to facilitate its 1MDB investigations.

It was reported that Tan was initially thought to be a name used by Low for his business transaction in Singapore.

His identity had always been a subject of speculation because banks across the Causeway had never seen him although they had communicated with him via emails and other means.

Also going by the name of Eric Tan, he is believed to be the key figure in the 1MDB scandal as he was identified as a signatory for numerous bank accounts in RBS Coutts and Falcon Bank in Singapore where funds from 1MDB accounts were laundered.

According to reports, Tan, who was the front for Low in all his banking transactions involving billions of ringgit from 1MDB, is a family friend and business partner to the latter’s siblings.

He was a shareholder in several companies in Malaysia and Singapore doing business with Low’s relatives before he became the point person and most trusted aide.

Tan’s identity only emerged in public during the trial of a former BSI Bank of Singapore banker, Yeo Jia Wei, who was sentenced to 54 months’ jail for his role in the 1MDB scandal.

Meanwhile, Tang was said to be an investment executive and pioneer in 1MDB while Geh was an executive director of finance. Loo was a general counsel and executive director of group strategy.

Tang and Loo have been on MACC’s wanted list for a few years now. – December 4, 2018.