1/24 The 1MDB scandal cost Malaysia an estimated ~$18 BILLION. 🤯

Yes, $18,000,000,000 – far above the ~$4.5B initially identified as stolen.

New internal figures reveal how fugitive playboy financier Jho Low's mega-fraud inflicted such damage… 🧵 2/24 Let's break down that $18B:

Roughly $7.65B was stolen directly from 1MDB's funds – with Jho Low himself allegedly pocketing about $2.5B into his personal accounts.

This was money meant for Malaysia's development, brazenly siphoned off via fake deals.

🚨 BREAKING: Trump's DOJ just killed its elite anti-corruption unit, our sources say. The Kleptocracy Initiative - famous for seizing Russian oligarchs' yachts and prosecuting the $4.5B 1MDB fraud - was quietly disbanded last night. In an email sent at 7:30PM yesterday, AG Pam Bondi announced the immediate closure of both the Kleptocracy Initiative and Task Force KleptoCapture. The units recovered billions in stolen assets since 2010.

Jho Low was in Macau a lot from 2015-2018, as well as Hong Kong Kong, Shenzhen & Thailand but after Najib’s electoral defeat his movements were more restricted to the mainland. We at ⁦@WhaleHunting_⁩ believe he’s under house arrest in Shanghai aljazeera.com/economy/2023/5… Jho and others including Eric Tan all have wives and children now, they’ve been constant companions for years. Only Jasmine Loo Ai Swan appears to have broken from the group

More than 11 years ago, I was in Benghazi during the Civil War -- it was quieter on the East, so every day we'd drive as close to Sirte as possible to find out news about the final battle of the war (🧵 on my new book - please read on!) One day, I was deep in the desert with @kristenchick and we found a crazy 18-year-old from LA, Chris Jeon, who joined the rebels for his spring break (after an internship at Blackrock in SF)

قبل أكثر من ثلاث سنوات، بدأنا، أنا  و @ScheckWSJ، بنشر مقالات عن التغيُرات الاقتصادية الـجريئة  في عهد الملك سلمان وابنه مـحمد بن سلمان. كتابنا ،الدم والنفط، يتحدث عن صعود مـحمد بن  سلمان إلـى السلطة وعاصفة نشاطاته خلال الأعوام الخمسة الأولـى من هذا الصعود. إنَّ صعود مـحمد بن سلمان هو أمر مهم لأنّ كل الدلائل  تشير إلى أنه سيصبح ملكاً للسعودية في سن مبكر، والذي سيحضّره  لتولي زمام الحكم لعقود قادمة. وهو أبضاً يدفع بلده نحو تغيير سريع وجذري في المجالات الاجتماعية والدِّين والاقتصاد.

More than 3 years ago, @ScheckWSJ & I began reporting on Saudi Arabia's bold economic changes under King Salman & his son Mohammed bin Salman. Today is publication day for BLOOD AND OIL, our book about MBS's rise to power & the storm of activity during his first 5 years in power MBS's ascent is important because all signs point to him becoming the king of Saudi Arabia at a young age, setting him up to be in power for decades. He is also pushing his country toward rapid, radical change with regards to social practices, religion, and the economy

In latest surreal waste of money, Jho Low lawyers demanding our UK publisher not sell in Australia (where book has been on sale without any problem for a year by our US publisher...) #losttheplot #1mdb #jholow #billiondollarwhale #streisandeffect Speaking of surreal: Jho Low is an intl. fugitive with an Interpol Red Notice & criminal charges in three countries. He refuses to answer a single question & says he can’t get a fair trial in ANY JURISDICTION. Yet, he thinks he can make spurious libel threats? #billiondollarwhale