Malaysia agency seeks financier Jho Low in probe of former 1MDB unit

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's anti-graft agency said on Thursday it wants financier Low Taek Jho and one other person to assist in the investigation into a former unit of debt-laden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has resumed a probe into SRC International, which has been linked to transfers of 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) into the personal account of former premier Najib Razak.

"The MACC is asking two individuals to come forward and contact the MACC immediately to assist in its investigation into SRC International," the commission said in a notice.

The MACC named Low, or Jho Low as he is widely known, and SRC International director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil Nik Othman Arif Kamil in the notice.

"The MACC urges anyone who has information or knows both individuals to contact the investigating officer...or the nearest MACC office," the commission said.

The money involved in the SRC probe is just a fraction of billions of dollars allegedly siphoned from 1MDB, a scandal that dogged the last three years of Najib's near-decade-long rule and one of the reasons why voters rejected him in a May election.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.

Jho Low, 37, has been named along with Najib's stepson Riza Aziz in civil lawsuits filed by the US Department of Justice, which alleged that about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB.

The department is seeking to seize about $1.7 billion worth of 1MDB-linked assets, and is also pursuing a criminal probe.

The whereabouts of Jho Low, who rose to notoriety by throwing parties with Hollywood stars, are unknown. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

MACC officers have already taken statements from Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, in connection with the SRC International probe.