Looking for Jho Low: Is the 1MDB fugitive really hiding in Shanghai luxury enclave?

New Paper

2 days ago

Across the Huangpu River in Pudong, behind high fences and dense greenery, lies a sprawling enclave with over 400 Tudor-style bungalows, manicured gardens and tree-lined roads dotted with Teslas, Jaguars and other luxury cars.
This exclusive gated compound, which more closely resembles the quaint English countryside than a Chinese megacity, is where Malaysian financial fugitive Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, is allegedly living, according to the journalists who first exposed the 1MDB scandal.
On July 19, investigative duo Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, in a live stream titled Finding Jho Low, claimed that Low lives in Green Hills, an upscale residential compound in Shanghai.
They also alleged that Low is using a forged Australian passport under the Greek alias "Constantinos Achilles Veis" to travel freely within China, citing evidence from unnamed sources and newly obtained documents.
Mr Hope and Mr Wright are former journalists at The Wall Street Journal who played key roles in uncovering the multi-billion-dollar fraud that resulted in the imprisonment of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak for corruption and money laundering.
Low's whereabouts have remained a mystery since he disappeared in 2016, fuelling years of speculation.
When The Straits Times visited the Green Hills compound over two days, residents spoke of a quiet residential estate where neighbours rarely cross paths or interact due to the sprawling grounds.
Three residents told ST that they have heard of celebrities and "famous businessmen" who live in the estate, but all said they did not know who and did not care to find out.
A resident, whose house is located right by the estate's side gate, told ST that he barely recognises anyone who lives in the compound, including his next-door neighbour, as their houses are separated by large gardens.
"The only time I ever went through the whole estate was when I first moved here five years ago to check out the surroundings; now I just enter the gate and go straight into my home," he said.
This reporter was unable to enter the estate as security guards at all three entrances required visitors to provide the house number they were visiting as well as the surname of the family living there.
Built in 2004, the 410,000 sqm Green Hills compound is a residential enclave favoured by wealthy locals and expats, largely because there are two international schools - Dulwich and Concordia - in the vicinity.
It is surrounded by other similarly luxurious landed home compounds and sits by a river where people occasionally kayak.
Property agents who are actively marketing the homes for rent told ST that a key feature is the double-height ceiling living room, which allows for large gatherings. Marketing videos on Chinese social media platforms show that many of these three-storey homes are opulently appointed and typically have between four and eight bedrooms.
Built in 2004, the 410,000 sqm Green Hills compound is a residential enclave favoured by wealthy locals and expats. ST PHOTO: MICHELLE NG
Monthly rental for a standalone bungalow - the largest house type with up to 500 sqm of internal floor area - is between 70,000 yuan (S$12,500) and 100,000 yuan, agents said. The selling price for one of these is between 70 million yuan and 150 million yuan.
Rental for a semi-detached house is around 40,000 yuan while that for a terrace house, referred to as a townhouse in China, is around 30,000 yuan.
Outside Green Hills, a resident who was getting on a shared bicycle told ST that the bulk of the people who live there are families whose children attend the international schools, or are older Chinese who do not need to fret over money, like her parents.
"Basically every household here has at least two cars, one everyday car like a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, and the other is more fancy… maybe a sports car," she said, adding that she is "not one of them" as she is living under her parents' roof.
When asked if she had heard of Low's alleged residence in the compound, she said no. "All kinds of people live around here, I don't really care who they are as long as my life is not disrupted."
Rumours that Low is living in China have swirled since at least 2019, when a photo purportedly showing him at Shanghai Disneyland on Christmas Eve emerged online. China has consistently denied sheltering him or having knowledge of his location.
ST has contacted the Shanghai authorities for comments.
Low, who has repeatedly claimed his innocence, has been wanted by multiple jurisdictions, including Malaysia, Singapore and the United States, since 2016 for his alleged role in siphoning an estimated US$4.5 billion (S$5.77 billion) from 1MDB, Malaysia's sovereign fund. Low is accused of pocketing US$1.42 billion from three bond transactions that Goldman Sachs arranged for 1MDB.
On July 24, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the report about Low's location and the passport he allegedly is using is "not supported by credible proof".
In response to the report, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement warning that passport fraud is a serious offence under Australian law.
In 2023, Malaysia's anti-graft regulator told Qatari news network Al Jazeera in a written response that it suspected Low to be hiding in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau.
Entrances to Green Hills, a sprawling gated residential enclave with over 400 Tudor-styled bungalows, manicured gardens and tree-lined roads in Shanghai. ST PHOTO: MICHELLE NG
The scandal, described by the United States Justice Department as the largest case of kleptocracy it had ever investigated, first came to public attention in 2015 when reports emerged that nearly US$700 million was suspected to have been transferred from 1MDB into then-Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank account.
US prosecutors claim that more than US$4.5 billion was ultimately embezzled from the fund by high-level officials of the fund and their associates, with the money laundered through a global network of shell companies and bank accounts.
The stolen funds were allegedly used to finance Low's extravagant lifestyle spanning jewellery, fine art, luxury real estate, a superyacht, lavish parties and even the production of the Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street.