[UPDATED] Jho Low spotted in Shanghai Disneyland in 2019: journalist

KUALA LUMPUR – Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, who is infamously linked with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, was allegedly spotted in Shanghai Disneyland in China in 2019.

Popularly known as Jho Low, a person resembling him was photographed sitting at a table with two other individuals in what seems to be a restaurant.

The image was shown during an online conversation between investigative journalists and Project Brazen co-founders Tom Wright and Bradley Hope who were speaking about their efforts to hunt down Low across Asia.

They claimed that Low is leading a domestic life in China where he is married with two children. The exact location of his home there, however, is not known.

Wright also shared the image on his Twitter account. In his post, he said Low was then enjoying a trip to Shanghai Disneyland with friends. “Evidence is pouring in,” he added.

In 2019, on the run from Malaysian and U.S. authorities, Jho Low enjoyed a trip to Shanghai Disneyland with friends. Evidence is pouring in: https://t.co/2oH4ISzAEc #whereisjholow pic.twitter.com/ZeF9OUGRb5

— Tom Wright (@TomWrightAsia) August 31, 2022

The journalistic duo are authors of the best-selling book Billion Dollar Whale, which purportedly covers the scandal along with the involvement of Penang-born Low and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Last week, they had called on the public to find Low, who allegedly masterminded the contentious dealings, after the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the guilty verdict against Najib in a graft trial over the affair.

“Najib may have gone to jail, but Goldman bankers haven’t. And Jho Low is still out there,” Wright said in a tweet.

“So on that last point: let’s find Jho Low,” he said.

Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was found guilty of all seven charges in the corruption case related to 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The court upheld his 12-year jail sentence and the RM210 million fine imposed by the high court on him. He was taken to Kajang Prison that same day. 

In their conversation, Wright and Hope discussed the latest tips they have received about Low’s whereabouts and who might be sheltering him from justice.

Both concluded that Low has been confined to China. However, his exact location remains unknown.

“This photo captures a lot of things about Jho Low,” said Hope. “Our intelligence about him in all these years – that he’s been kind of on the run – it is almost kind of like a little bit disappointing.

“You are chasing this guy, he’s thought to be a mastermind, you know, money launderer, fraudster, or whatever. He’s denying all the charges, of course.

“You think he might be like in a James Bond lair somewhere, but in fact, he’s just wandering around shopping malls and sitting in Shanghai, Disneyland,” he added.

Hope also explained that Low has been living a “strange” domestic life in China while trying to negotiate a settlement with the appropriate authorities on his alleged involvement in the scandal.

“He’s got a family now. We don’t want to reveal too much information but he is married with two children and kind of living a strange domestic life in China while he’s at the same time trying to negotiate these international settlements,” he said.

Wright also briefly explained that Low is allowed to remain in China as he had dealt with several senior Chinese officials in the past to help them clinch major infrastructure projects in Malaysia at above market rate.

The efforts were done in tandem with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

However, these major infrastructure projects were largely cancelled or renegotiated as the terms were deemed not favourable to Malaysia after Barisan Nasional had lost the 2018 election, said Wright.

“That explains why Jho Low would be allowed to stay in China because he knows all of this kind of things, about how the Belt and Road deal works, which would be hugely embarrassing to President Xi Jinping if Jho Low were to turn up in a court somewhere in the world, like in the US or Malaysia,” he said.

In 2019, the Royal Malaysia Police stated that Low was possibly active in Macau.

Then in February 2020, then inspector-general of police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said Low was spotted in Wuhan. However, his trail had gone cold since. – The Vibes, August 31, 2022