The Justice Department is probing whether fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low laundered tens of millions of dollars to pay a team of attorneys in the U.S. that includes former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and a lawyer representing President Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.
Court filings describe Low as playing a key role in the alleged embezzlement of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a Malaysian fund.
In addition, authorities in Malaysia have also charged him with money laundering in the case, according to the Journal. Investigators believe it may be one of the biggest financial frauds in history, the newspaper said.
He is believed to be moving around in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau in recent months.
The Justice Department had filed civil lawsuits in California looking to get back assets from him and others. But U.S. officials are now pursuing a criminal probe, the Journal reported.
The newspaper said that since 2016 banks have curtailed Low’s access to funds – making it difficult for him to pay legal expenses.
Christie is one of the lawyers working for him along with Marc Kasowitz, a longtime Trump attorney; Bobby Burchfield, a lawyer who has worked for the Trump Organization and Ed Rogers, a lobbyist with ties to the Republican Party, the newspaper said.
There is no indication that any of the people who received payments were aware of the money could have originated from funds he allegedly siphoned off from 1MDB, according to the newspaper.
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