By MOHAMAD AZLAN JAAFAR / Pic By BLOOMBERG

Financier Low Taek Jho, wanted by the Malaysian authority over the billions allegedly stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), is believed to be hiding in Macau, according to a government source.

The Penang-born businessman, popularly known as Jho Low, is said to be the central figure for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other task forces investigating the sovereign wealth fund.

The source told The Malaysian Reserve that Low is in Macau and Malaysia does not have an extradition treaty with the former Portuguese colony, famous as one of the world’s gambling havens.

The whereabouts of the flamboyant playboy, suspected of masterminding one of the world’s largest financial scandals, has been of key interest to the public and global law enforcement authorities.

He has been elusive from the public’s eyes as the 1MDB probe intensifies and after Barisan Nasional was ousted in the recent general election. The former administration had repeatedly denied Low’s links to 1MDB.

Media reports had suggested that Low was recently spotted in places like Phuket, Thailand, China and Taiwan.

Prime Minister (PM) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said the authorities are trying to bring Low back to Malaysia over the 1MDB scandal.

“We are trying to arrest Jho Low, but he is not in the country. And we do not have extradition rights in the country where he is hiding,” Dr Mahathir said last week.

Macau, a special administrative region (SAR) of Greater China, similar to Hong Kong, was returned by Portugal in 1999.

Presently, the autonomous authority has no extradition treaties with any countries. But based on the local law, Macau can honour an extradition request if the crime a person committed is also deemed a crime in the SAR.

The former Portuguese colony is a tourism centre, but its economy depends largely on gambling.

The resort city in Southern China is famous for its casinos and luxury hotels, earning revenues four times bigger than Las Vegas from its gambling activities in 2011.

The colony is also linked to triads and gangsters bosses, who expanded their empire by owning casinos.

The source said Macau is a “good place” to hide from authorities.

Low had said he would cooperate with the MACC through his lawyers in the SRC International Sdn Bhd probe, according to Bloomberg.

Malaysiakini had reported that Low had contacted Dr Mahathir after he was sworn in as the PM and was ready to help identify assets purchased with 1MDB’s funds and to repatriate the proceeds home.

Besides Low, MACC is also looking for Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil Nik Othman Arif Kamil to assist in the probe on SRC International. Nik Faisal was a director at the former subsidiary of 1MDB, before it was placed under the Ministry of Finance in 2015.

The investigation is related to the purported RM42 million transfer into the personal account of former PM Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak. Former Attorney General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali had cleared Najib of the RM42 million and another RM2.6 billion worth of fund transfers into the PM’s accounts.

But the MACC has reopened the investigation and is seeking key witnesses including Low. The Malaysian playboy, who had Australian model Miranda Kerr and Paris Hilton as acquaintances, had been linked to about US$4.5 billion (RM17.95 billion) misapproriated from 1MDB, according to the US Department of Justice.

Low has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He has never been arrested or trialled in any court.

Bloomberg also reported that Malaysian authorities were drafting arrest warrants for former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng and 1MDB former chief Shahrol Halmi.

Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor have been already questioned by the MACC over the SRC probe.