'Billion Dollar Whale' author claims Jho Low under house arrest in Shanghai, not hiding in Macau

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — Author Bradley Hope said that fugitive broker Low Taek Jho, also called Jho Low, is under house arrest in Shanghai, China despite the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) saying it believes the latter was hiding in Macau.

Hope — who co-wrote "Billion Dollar Whale" about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal — said that Low was in Macau, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Thailand a lot from 2015 to 2018.

“However, after former Malaysia’s prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak electoral defeat, [Jho Low's] movements were more restricted to the mainland. We at 'Whale Hunting' believe he’s under house arrest in Shanghai,” he posted on Twitter, referring to his newsletter on tracking Low and other fugitives.

Hope also said that China is holding Low on a tight leash not only because of negotiations with Malaysia but also because his patron in the spy services, Sun Lijun, was arrested and business partners at China Communications Construction Company were ousted.

“He went from an intelligence asset to a liability after Najib was voted out,” he said.

Hope also pointed out that Low and others involved in 1MDB including Eric Tan all have wives and children now. and have been constant companions for years.

“Only Jasmine Loo Ai Swan appears to have broken from the group,” he added.

Hope also left a question for the Malaysian government: “What crime in your legal code for a prime minister conspiring with a foreign power to sacrifice national interest or sovereignty and overpay contracts using state money in exchange for covering up a massive fraud?”.

Malay Mail cannot verify the authenticity of Hope's claims and is seeking clarification from the police and MACC.

Yesterday, Al Jazeera cited the anti-graft commission saying that it “believes the individuals wanted for the 1MDB case, especially Jho Low, are hiding in Macau.

Al Jazeera reported that MACC's remark came weeks after the arrest of Kee Kok Thiam — one of the suspects in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal — after he was deported from Macau for allegedly overstaying his visa.

Kee had reportedly confirmed to MACC that he met Low and fellow 1MDB fugitives and suspects Eric Tan Kim Loong, Casey Tang Keng Chee, Geh Choh Heng and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil in Macau.

On May 5, Malay Mail reported that an unnamed suspect was brought back with the cooperation of enforcement agencies from abroad, and arrived at KLIA's Terminal 2 on May 3 at 3.30am. This is now believed to be Kee.

Yesterday, a senior official from MACC confirmed Kee’s recent death, adding that the latter had been released after being questioned by the commission.