Malaysian police have said that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho — better known as Jho Low — was at one point hiding out in Wuhan.
Bernama quoted Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador as saying that the information was based on international intelligence sources.
However, there has been no new intelligence on whether Low has since fled the city at the centre of the Covid-19 outbreak.
"I have asked Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to be alert should he return (following the Covid-19 outbreak)," said Abdul Hamid.
He also quipped that if Low had indeed contracted the virus, "he should return to Malaysia".
"So far the Malaysian Health Ministry is the best as nine people have successfully been cured," said Abdul Hamid according to Bernama.
Abdul Hamid added that Low was on Interpol's Red List, though not as a public listing but instead in a separate category — "only available to the enforcement agencies for action to be taken".
Wanted for links to 1MDB
Low is wanted by Malaysian authorities for his connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal, which has also seen former-Prime Minister Najib Razak standing trial.
He is alleged to have had a part in the pilfering of between US$4.5 billion (S$6.3 billion) — according to the U.S. authorities — and US$7 billion (S$9.79 billion) — according to the Malaysian government — reported SCMP.
Low's superyacht, worth US$250 million (S$349.74 million) was seized, and in October 2019, he agreed to return assets worth over US$700 million (S$979.28 million).
Hopping from country to country
Abdul Hamid had previously promised to bring Low back to Malaysia by Christmas 2019; Low has been on the run for over a year.
It is believed that he has been travelling from one nation to another. According to SCMP, Low also used to hold a couple of foreign passports.
It was discovered that he had owned a Cypriot passport, which he had received through an investment-for-citizenship scheme.
He also had a passport issued from the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Both passports have since been revoked.
Another possibility regarding Low's whereabouts is that he has been travelling between the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
SCMP reported that Low's spokesperson has said that he is hiding out in a country that "acts in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and European Convention on Human Rights".
Low may have had facial surgery?
Late last year Abdul Hamid had bemoaned the scuppering of the manhunt for Low by "dishonest" foreign state authorities who were allegedly protecting the fugitive.
He was quoted by SCMP as saying:
"Among the excuses they gave include Jho Low apparently having changed his looks by undergoing facial surgery to look like a bear.
Sometimes when he walks, he looks like a [bear]. So when we look at him from behind, that is how he looks. Do you think this excuse [given by the authorities of the country Jho Low is hiding in] is logical?"
Um..what?
Top image from Jho Low's Facebook page and Benjamin Chris via Unsplash