Malaysia sought Hong Kong's help in hunt for 1MDB fugitives

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's police sought help from Hong Kong authorities in its 1MDB probe that includes the hunt for Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the billion-dollar scandal.

The police have sent letters and information to their Hong Kong counterparts to seek help in the investigation, inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador said in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

"It's not only Jho Low, I know the locations of four or five other people, but we can't get them because of these certain restrictions," he said. Their cooperation with the Hong Kong police used to be very close, he added, "only lately it's become difficult."

Hong Kong authorities replied with "negative" responses and said the information sent by Malaysian police isn't correct, Abdul Hamid said. A representative for the Hong Kong police didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Malaysia has also sought help from Interpol to find Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, and bring him back to the country to face charges linked to his alleged role in 1MDB. The troubled state fund has sparked global investigations into corruption and money laundering involving billions of dollars. Low has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Abdul Hamid previously said Low was in a jurisdiction with which Malaysia has an extradition treaty, and that the police were in talks with a party they suspect of protecting him.

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The people sought by Malaysia are travelling freely, with multiple trips to Cambodia, Thailand, Macau and Hong Kong, Abdul Hamid said on Friday. The police are aware that Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, once chief executive officer of former 1MDB unit SRC International, is in Hong Kong with his family, he added.

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