Crime & Courts

Jho Low fights to reclaim seized Penang family mansion

KUALA LUMPUR: Fugitive financier Jho Low is fighting the seizure of his mother’s mansion.

He said his family had lived in the property before 1Malaysia Development Bhd (IMDB) existed.

Low said the purchase and construction of his family home in Penang predated the state fund, as his mother Goh Gaik Ewe held a certificate of occupation dated July 2000.

A spokesman for Low, through his American lawyers, provided the occupancy certificate.

Malaysia is seeking to seize the mansion as part of a RM680 million ringgit civil forfeiture action.

The assets include handbags, cars and cash, which the government alleges were bought using funds siphoned from 1MDB, which was set up in 2009.

The seizure of the family property was part of the government’s “personal vendetta” against him that has risked his family’s safety, Low said in an open letter today.

The move shows that he would be unable to get a fair trial in Malaysia, he added.

He has been painted by United States prosecutors as the mastermind behind the scandal surrounding 1MDB, which saw US$4.5 billion allegedly misappropriated.

Low, who remains at large, dropped his claims to a stake in the Park Lane Hotel in New York City, US, last year, paving the way for the property to be sold and the funds returned to Malaysia by the US Justice Department.

This week, lawyers for Low asked a US judge to let them take the first steps toward selling two luxury condominiums in Manhattan, which are part of US forfeiture lawsuits linked to 1MDB. Who will keep the proceeds remains unresolved as Low continues to fight the suits.-BLOOMBERG

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