Priority is 1MDB asset recovery, says Saifuddin

PUTRAJAYA: The government’s focus when it comes to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, is 1MDB asset recovery, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.

“We have been made to understand that there is a settlement between Low and the US Department of Justice, but that’s their deal.

“We will only know whether the asset belongs to our country after it is given back to the DoJ,” he said at a press conference here today, adding that Malaysia’s focus for now is asset recovery.

“Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration (focused on a) global settlement. During Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration, (they) focused on a settlement with Goldman Sachs. Our priority is asset recovery,” he said.

On Thursday, 1MDB asset recovery task force chairman Johari Ghani said the DoJ’s confidential agreement with Low is a matter separate from the government’s efforts to arrest the fugitive financier.

The DoJ’s agreement with Low for a settlement to the forfeiture of 1MDB assets was said to have been signed with the financier’s family lawyers and their financial trustees in June.

CNA reported that the global settlement plan would see the surrender of assets previously identified by the authorities. Assets that were not previously claimed or seized by prosecuting agencies worldwide would also be handed over.

Separately, speaking on Malaysia’s 10th placing in the 2024 Global Peace Index (GPI), Saifuddin said the country wants to maintain a top 10 position.

“The same goes for the US State Department’s annual trafficking in persons (TIP) report, in which we are currently in Tier 2.

“When I first took office, we were in Tier 3, so our next target is to reach Tier 1,” he said.

He said the GPI ranking is also crucial in attracting foreign investors.

“Investors look at this index before investing their billions. The GPI ranking is a key indicator (for them),” he said.