GEORGE TOWN: Top cop Abdul Hamid Bador today dismissed a report by a US daily claiming that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, popularly known as Jho Low, is in Los Angeles.
Entertainment portal Page Six had claimed that Jho Low was recently spotted at a dinner party in Hollywood.
However, Hamid said it was unlikely that the financier could have entered the US as border checks there are very strict.
“Logically, the border controls in America, whether land, air or sea, are very, very tight.
“I would not expect Jho Low to be so slick that he could sneak his way into the US,” he said on the sidelines of an event here today.
If this were to happen, he added, it would be very embarrassing for the US authorities. “But I am sure he is not there,” he said.
“I think he is still there – you know where. The place I have always said. He is receiving protection.”
Hamid added however that he was being “patient” about negotiating with “them”, “in the spirit of international policing and hunting down fugitives”.
When asked where Jho Low could be, Hamid said: “He could be anywhere, really. Maybe Kazakhstan, who knows?
“I’m trying my best to get him back here by year-end. He deserves to be tried here.”
Jho Low is a key figure in the scandal at 1MDB, which US and Malaysian investigators say was used to siphon out billions of ringgit.
He is wanted by law enforcement agencies in several countries for investigations into corruption, bribery and money laundering.