36 Facts About Jho Low

Low Taek Jho was born on 4 November 1981 and is a Malaysian businessman and fugitive who is wanted by Interpol since 2016 for his key role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.

Jho Low is the beneficiary of numerous discretionary trust assets said by the US government to originate from payments out of the 1MDB fund.

Jho Low has maintained his innocence and contends that Malaysian authorities are engaging in a campaign of harassment and political persecution due to his prior support of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose part in the 1MDB scandal had led to Najib being convicted on seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust.

Jho Low was born a citizen of Malaysia, and from 2011, he held citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis, which was revoked in 2019, and Cyprus from 2015 until it was revoked in 2024.

Jho Low is of Teochew descent and he grew up in George Town, on Penang Island.

Jho Low's grandfather Tan Sri Dato' Low Meng Tak was a businessman born in Guangdong in China.

Jho Low attended Chung Ling High School and The International School of Penang before being sent to the elite Harrow School in London.

Jho Low took this opportunity to rub shoulders with students from powerful families, including royals from the Middle East and Brunei.

Jho Low then enrolled in the undergraduate program of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where he continued to develop connections with Malaysians as well as Kuwaiti and Jordanian interests and began managing money for his friends and family.

Jho Low supported Aziz in the establishment of Red Granite Pictures, a Hollywood production company responsible for films including Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To.

In 2019, US authorities pursuing Jho Low described him as a financial intermediary, which allowed him to use his connections to high net worth individuals and international institutions to launder the money stolen through manipulation of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

The request for assistance to provisionally arrest Jho Low was sent to the Hong Kong Department of Justice in April 2016, according to a representative for Singapore's police, but the request was rejected by the Hong Kong authorities.

In light of the warrants, some consider him a fugitive as he has reportedly been sought by the Malaysian authorities in connection with the 1MDB matter, notwithstanding that Jho Low agreed to assist with the probe.

Jho Low signed documents for private equity firm Jynwel Capital and non-profit group Jynwel Charitable Foundation in July 2018, even though Malaysian authorities were looking to arrest him in connection with the 1MDB scandal which he has stated as politically motivated.

Jho Low was alleged to have been in discussions with the Malaysian government on a potential deal, but the Malaysian government and he did not come to a deal.

Jho Low allegedly purchased a US$325,000 white Ferrari as a wedding gift for Kim Kardashian in 2011.

Jho Low invested $100 million into the production of The Wolf of Wall Street, which was nominated for the Oscars.

Red Granite, a productions company that was backed by Jho Low, threw a lavish party in Cannes which included a performance by Kanye West.

On 31 October 2019, Jho Low entered into a global, comprehensive settlement with the US government forever resolving all civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings concerning asset forfeiture claims against various Jho Low-linked assets.

In 2019, Jho Low was accused of a connection to the Burning Sun scandal through his friendship with Korean musician Psy; Jho Low, Psy and others denied the allegations.

Jho Low is believed to be residing in China where he secretly travels extensively through major cities.

That same month, Al Jazeera reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission believed Jho Low was still hiding in Macau.

In November 2024 Najib Razak's lawyer claimed Jho Low could be hiding in Myanmar under the protection of the ruling junta.

In June 2024, Jho Low agreed to forfeit more than $100 million in assets to settle two civil cases with the US Department of Justice, which includes a luxury apartment in Paris and artwork by Claude Monet and Andy Warhol.

Jho Low continues to face separate criminal cases for money laundering and bribery.

Consistent with his personal connections to the Najib Razak family, Jho Low supported and funded the Prime Minister with 1MDB cash during the 2013 elections.

Jho Low organised a free pro-government concert in his home state of Penang featuring American musicians Busta Rhymes and Ludacris, which was criticised by the local opposition government as unfair electioneering even though Low's close friend claimed the concert was for charity.

The indictment against Jho Low revealed that he directed the transfer of US$21.6 million from foreign entities to former Fugees rapper Pras in 2012 for funneling into the US election.

Jho Low was helped by former Justice Department employee Higginbotham, who pleaded guilty to a charge in November 2018, to set up bank accounts for a lobbying campaign against the US investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

In June 2021, Jho Low was charged by a federal grand jury for running a back-channel campaign to get the Trump administration to drop an investigation of Jho Low and the 1MDB investment company.

However, much, if not all, of his charitable giving occurred after the 1MDB scandal began to unfold, and thus critics claim that the money provided to various charities was stolen from 1MDB and that Jho Low's charitable giving is simply part of a public relations strategy to burnish Jho Low's tarnished image.

Jho Low, born in Malaysia and granted Malaysian citizenship at birth, has reportedly possessed numerous passports obtained by economic citizenship.

Jho Low is presumed to have used these passports, from Caribbean and Mediterranean nations, to evade arrest.

Malaysia does not recognize dual citizenship, and in June 2018, Malaysian immigration authorities revoked Jho Low's Malaysian passport on the basis that having more than one passport is a criminal offence in Malaysia.

In 2019, it was reported that Jho Low had been granted a Cypriot passport years earlier, under a Cypriot citizenship investment scheme, "within two days after investing in some property" in Cyprus.

At the time, Jho Low had not yet been criminally charged for the 1MDB scandal, but was already under investigation.