KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 – Low Taek Jho, widely regarded as the architect behind the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandals, has formally requested a pardon from US President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal eported on Wednesday citing sources.
According to the publication, the appeal was submitted within the last several weeks; if approved, it would eliminate the US criminal proceedings against Low, who is commonly known as Jho Low.
The report, citing the US Department of Justice’s website, said Low filed a pardon request this year, despite having been charged in 2018 and remaining at large ever since.
The news agency, citing the site, said the request by Low was to seek a “Pardon after Completion of Sentence” and the status of his request was still “pending”.
According to the DOJ’s filing, federal prosecutors claim that Low — assisted by two ex-bankers from Goldman Sachs Group Inc — distributed roughly US$2 billion in illicit payments to foreign officials, among them former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was eventually sentenced to prison after being found guilty of all 25 charges in the 1MDB trial at home.
The former prime minister was convicted at the High Court in December 2025 on all four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds.
