Low Taek Jho, the Malaysian financier still wanted by the DOJ on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges tied to the 1MDB scandal, has filed a pardon petition with the DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. He’s been a fugitive since the charges were filed in 2018.
The DOJ charged Low alongside Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs managing director, and Tim Leissner, the bank’s former Southeast Asia Chairman, for paying bribes to Malaysian and Abu Dhabi government officials in connection with 1Malaysia Development Berhad, Malaysia’s state-owned investment development company. All three also faced charges of conspiring to launder billions embezzled from 1MDB.
The case produced the largest-ever FCPA settlement. Goldman Sachs paid a net $1.66 billion in 2020 to resolve the action. Leissner pleaded guilty, forfeited $43.7 million, and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2025. Ng was convicted at trial in 2022 and sentenced to ten years in 2023.
Low’s path diverged sharply. The court docket hasn’t logged a single entry in approximately three years, and he hasn’t appeared before a judge.
His pardon petition means he’s now asking the same agency that indicted him for relief before he’s ever stood trial. Presidential pardons typically follow conviction. Low hasn’t seen the inside of a courtroom.
The DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney will review the petition and make a recommendation to the President. The FCPA charges against Low remain pending.
— James Okafor