A high-profile Malaysian corruption suspect is allegedly living in China under a false name with a forged Australian passport, according to the investigative media outlet Brazen.
Jho Low, a financier accused of being the mastermind of Malaysia's largest corruption case, is reportedly living in an upscale Shanghai neighbourhood with a forged Australian passport.
Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak has been detained since 2022 after being found guilty of corruption and money laundering relating to the sovereign wealth fund he established, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Mr Low is alleged to have helped Mr Najib develop an elaborate, international scheme that defrauded Malaysian taxpayers out of about $US4.5 billion ($6.8 billion), according to Malaysian and US investigators.
The businessman, who has maintained his innocence, previously held citizenship in Cyprus and the Caribbean island country of St Kitts and Nevis — both of which have been revoked.
"The Australian Passport Office specialist investigators and intelligence officers assess every allegation of fraudulent use of Australian passports," said a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
"The use of a false Australian passport is an offence under Australian passport legislation, which can attract a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment and/or a $330,000 fine," they said.
"Due to privacy obligations, the department cannot comment on individual cases."
Brazen is an investigative reporting outlet founded by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, former correspondents for the Wall Street Journal who played a major role in exposing the 1MDB scandal.
In response to Brazen's reporting, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was unaware of any official confirmation that Mr Low was residing in China.
"I have no information, we are yet to receive anything. Let me check. I've read [the media reports]. I need to verify with the home minister," Mr Anwar said as quoted by the state news agency Bernama.
The US Department of Justice settled with Mr Low in 2019 to recoup around $US1 billion stolen from 1MDB, but American authorities said he was still wanted for his role in the affair.
Malaysian and Singaporean authorities have also said they are continuing to pursue Mr Low.
The superyacht Equanimity, which the US government said Mr Low had purchased using funds stolen from 1MDB, was seized by Indonesian authorities in 2018.
The vessel was later sold for $US126 million ($193 million), and the proceeds were returned to the Malaysian government.
Australia expelled an Israeli diplomat in 2010 after it emerged that faked Australian passports were used by Israel's spy agency, Mossad, to assassinate a top Hamas leader in Dubai.
Australia rolled out the R Series passport in 2023, the elaborate design of which DFAT said made forgeries more difficult.
Editorial note: Details of the owner of the passport stolen by Jho Low have been removed to protect their privacy.
