Who Is Jho Low? Record, Power & Key Facts

Accountability & contradictions

Claims against the record, the type of responsibility, and what is disputed.

Responsibility

What could change this assessment

3 linked facts have no assessed welfare direction yet.
Lifetime coverage has not been assessed: the record reflects stored facts only (2016–2019).

Timeline

The most relevant dated facts, newest first.

30 October 2019
Jho Low agrees to forfeit about $700 million in assets
1 November 2018
U.S. unseals criminal charges against Jho Low
20 July 2016
U.S. files civil forfeiture suits naming Jho Low over 1MDB funds

Ranked by shared high-impact facts, then explicit ties, then shared drivers.

Facts3

Evidence & methodology

How the record is sourced and how the score is derived.

3 of 3 linked facts verified, drawing on 3 distinct sources (2016–2019).

Sources include checked 2026-10-15 GET 200, keywords: low+settlement+700, checked 2026-10-15 GET 200, keywords: low+charge+1mdb+leissner, checked 2026-10-15 GET 200, keywords: low+1mdb+forfeiture.

Sources

1.bbc.comchecked 2026-10-15 GET 200, keywords: low+settlement+700
2.businessinsider.comchecked 2026-10-15 GET 200, keywords: low+charge+1mdb+leissner
3.theguardian.comchecked 2026-10-15 GET 200, keywords: low+1mdb+forfeiture

The score is formula-derived (Factrail formula v1, version 1.0.0), not an editorial verdict. Read the methodology.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed 14 October 2026 · Sources: 3

Expert analysis

An excerpt; the full analysis opens on request.

Context

Low Taek Jho, widely known as Jho Low, is a Malaysian financier charged by U.S. prosecutors in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. U.S. authorities allege that Low and others conspired to launder billions of dollars misappropriated from 1MDB and to pay bribes connected with bond transactions. Low has not been tried in the United States and remains a fugitive according to Justice Department case material. The page must therefore distinguish allegations, civil forfeiture settlements and convictions of other participants from any conviction of Low himself. Sources: U.S. DOJ, 1 November 2018 (opens in a new tab) and DOJ case record (opens in a new tab).

Record

The U.S. indictment announced in November 2018 charged Low with money-laundering and foreign-bribery conspiracies tied to 1MDB. Separate civil-forfeiture actions targeted assets that the Justice Department alleged were purchased with misappropriated funds. In June 2024, the department announced an agreement with Low, members of his family and related trusts resolving two civil forfeiture cases and facilitating recovery or transfer of more than $100 million in additional assets; the department expressly described the underlying asset claims as allegations. Other 1MDB participants have been convicted or pleaded guilty, but those outcomes are not Low's convictions.