1MDB: Jho Low faces new charges in scheme involving Trump

The US has laid fresh charges against fugitive Jho Low and an ex-member of the Fugees as part of an investigation into the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.

Mr Low and Prakazrel "Pras" Michel have been accused of running a back-channel campaign to get the then-Trump administration to drop the investigation.

1MDB was an investment fund set up by the Malaysian government that lost billions of dollars due to fraudulent activity.

Mr Low was at the heart of the scandal which helped topple Malaysia's former regime.

The businessman allegedly misappropriated funds from 1MDB to buy high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London, as well as a luxury boutique hotel in Beverly Hills.

He has been accused of masterminding the looting of hundreds of millions of dollars from the investment fund and spending it on everything from yachts to expensive artwork.

He is also accused of laundering money, along with his family, through financial institutions in several countries, including the US, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg.

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Mr Michel and Mr Low previously faced charges for allegedly orchestrating and concealing a scheme that illegally funnelled millions of dollars into the US presidential election, said a Department of Justice statement.

Mr Michel and Mr Low reportedly used "straw donors" - people who made cash contributions illegally - into the presidential campaign.

This campaign allegedly aimed to influence Mr Trump's then administration and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop an investigation of Mr Low and others in connection with 1MDB.

Under the new charges announced last Friday, the men are alleged to have conspired with several individuals including Elliott Broidy, a former top fund-raiser for Mr Trump, to engage in undisclosed lobbying campaigns.

The goals of the campaigns were to have "both the 1MDB embezzlement investigation forfeiture proceedings involving Low and others dropped and to have a Chinese dissident sent back to China."

Mr Michel is also charged with witness tampering and conspiracy to make false statements to banks.

If convicted, Mr Low faces a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison, per count, while Mr Michel could face a range of maximum penalties from five to 20 years in prison, per count.

Mr Michel rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Fugees, a hip hop trio including Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. They had a string of hits, including singles such as Killing Me Softly and Ready or Not.Mr Low, who also faces charges in Malaysia, has previously denied wrongdoing and remains at large.

Under US law an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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What is the 1MDB scandal?
The allegations centre around the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) a sovereign wealth fund set up in 2009.

Sovereign wealth funds are government-owned investment funds that are used to boost a country's economic development.

In 2015, questions were raised around 1MBD's activities after it missed payments owed to banks and bondholders.

Malaysian and US authorities allege that $4.5bn was illicitly plundered from the fund and diverted into private pockets.

The missing money has been linked to luxury real estate, a private jet, Van Gogh and Monet artworks - and even a Hollywood blockbuster, the Wolf of Wall Street.

In July 2020, a court in Malaysia sentenced former prime minister PM Najib Razak to 12 years in jail after finding him guilty on all seven counts in the first of several multi-million dollar corruption trials.

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In 2018 Malaysian police raided the home of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, as part of their investigation in his involvement with 1MDB.Goldman Sachs' chief executive David Solomon will get a $10m (£7.3m) pay cut for the bank's involvement in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

1MDB was an investment fund set up by the Malaysian government that lost billions due to fraudulent activity.

The global web of fraud and corruption led to a 12-year jail term for Malaysia's ex-prime minister Najib Razak which he is appealing.

Goldman Sachs called its involvement in the scandal an "institutional failure".

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Goldman Sachs helped raise $6.5bn for 1MDB by selling bonds to investors, 
the proceeds of which were largely stolen.

Prosecutors alleged that senior Goldman executives ignored warning signs of fraud in their dealings with 1MDB and Jho Low, an adviser to the fund. Two Goldman bankers have been criminally charged in the scandal.

Mr Solomon's pay would have been $10m higher but for the actions its board of directors took in response to the 1MDB saga, Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday.

While disclosing his salary had dropped to $17.5m for 2020, the bank stressed that Mr Solomon was unaware of the corruption.

He was not "involved in or aware of the firm's participation in any illicit activity at the time... the board views the 1MDB matter as an institutional failure, inconsistent with the high expectations it has for the firm".

Mr Solomon's package consists of $2m in cash base pay, a $4.65m cash bonus, and $10.85m in stock-based compensation.

Bumper year
In October, Goldman agreed to pay nearly $3bn to government officials in four countries to end an investigation into work it performed for 1MDB. The bank collected $600m for arranging the bond sales in 2012 and 2013.

It has spent years being investigated by regulators across the globe including those in the US, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.In total, Goldman's dealings with 1MDB cost the bank more than $5bn.

Despite the costs and fines from the fallout from the 1MDB scandal, 2020 was a bumper year for Goldman's businesses with annual revenue of $44.6bn, its highest since 2009.

The US-based bank got a huge boost from the recovery in global stock markets from the depths of the coronavirus recession.