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DOJ Probes if 1MDB Playboy Fugitive Donated to Trump Re-Election Fund

DIRTY MONEY

Jho Low is accused of stealing billions of dollars in Malaysian state funds.

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The Justice Department is investigating whether $100,000 donated to a Trump re-election committee came from Jho Low—the fugitive playboy who’s accused of embezzling billions of dollars from a scandal-hit Malaysian state fund called 1MDB. The Wall Street Journal reports the $100,000 donation was made in December 2017 to the Trump Victory committee—which is involved in helping re-elect President Trump in 2020. It was reportedly made in the name of Larry Davis, a U.S. citizen who co-owns investment firm LNS Capital; but authorities are now probing whether transfers totaling $1.5 million to LNS Capital seven months earlier—which originated from Low—financed the donation. It’s a federal offense for foreign individuals or companies to make direct or indirect donations to U.S. politicians or fundraising committees. Low—who became infamous for ripping up Manhattan clubs with $160,000 bar tabs and plied Lindsay Lohan with Champagne on her 23rd birthday—was indicted last year in the U.S. on three counts of conspiring to violate foreign anti-bribery laws and launder money. He also also faces charges in Malaysia for his alleged role in a scheme to steal billions of dollars from 1MDB.

Read it at The Wall Street Journal

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