The Malaysian government should be in the know on the whereabouts of fugitive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, said top adviserTun Daim Zainuddin.
"The last time he was in Macau. I think the government knows where he is," Daim, who chairs the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) appointed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, told reporters on Monday, according to The Star.
Penang-born Low is wanted for his role in the multi-billion-dollar scandal at Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The US Department of Justice says over US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund, with some of the money used to buy a private jet, a superyacht, Picasso paintings, jewellery and real estate.
Low, whose Malaysian passport has been revoked, has denied any wrongdoing and gone into hiding. Last Friday, he said through his lawyers that he does not expect to get a fair hearing anywhere and will not present himself to any country where his guilt has been predetermined.
Last month, Malaysian police said they believed Low had left Macau for an unknown destination, evading arrest in Hong Kong.
Malaysia has applied for an Interpol red notice to seek assistance from the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, China and Hong Kong to detain Low.
China's Foreign Ministry, asked whether Low was in the country, has said it had "no grasp" of the situation.
Speaking to reporters on Monday at the end of the CEP's 100-day mandate, Daim also denied he raised the matter of Low's whereabouts during his visit to China last month to renegotiate bilateral contracts.
Dr Mahathir "appointed me as a special envoy (at that time) to pave a way for his visit there", Daim was quoted by The Star as saying. He declined to comment further on Low's whereabouts.
Daim was also asked about the possible sale of a yacht believed to belong to Low. The Equanimity was first seized in February by Indonesian officials for the US Department of Justice (DOJ), after the DOJ claimed it was purchased with funds stolen from 1MDB, and handed to Malaysia earlier this month.
Daim replied the pool of superrich buyers for the expensive vessel would be very limited.
