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WASHINGTON (AP) – A former top fundraiser for President Donald Trump has been accused of illegally pressuring the US government to withdraw its investigation into the Malaysian 1MDB corruption scandal and deport an exiled Chinese billionaire. .
Elliott Broidy was indicted in federal court in Washington with one count of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent after allegedly agreeing to take millions of dollars to pressure the Trump administration.
The indictment, made public on Thursday (October 8), said that Broidy was recruited in 2017 by an anonymous foreign national, understood to be Low Taek Jho of Malaysia, to pressure US officials to end their investigation of a scandal involving former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. .
READ: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak sentenced to 12 years in prison after guilty verdict in 1MDB trial
The scandal involved the theft of more than $ 4.5 billion from the state investment fund 1MDB, and Low was instrumental in moving and concealing some of the stolen funds.
At the time, Broidy was vice chairman of national finance for the Republican National Committee having been a major fundraiser for Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign.
After being recruited by Low, Broidy personally asked Trump to invite Najib Razak to play golf during the former Malaysian leader’s visit to the United States in September 2017, according to the indictment.
The aim was to give the former prime minister the opportunity to “try to resolve the 1MDB issue” with the US leader, according to the document.
The game of golf never happened, and Low was indicted in 2018 for his role in diverting billions from 1MDB.
READ: Malaysian Court will hear 1MDB appeal from former Prime Minister Najib on February 15, 2021
Additionally, in May 2017 Low introduced Broidy to a Chinese state minister, and they discussed Beijing’s wish that Washington deport an exiled Chinese tycoon, according to the indictment.
He did not name any of the people, but the mogul is known to be Guo Wengui, a prominent dissident businessman.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Chinese official was Sun Lijun, at the time Beijing’s powerful vice minister of public security.
The indictment describes Broidy’s intense lobbying in the White House, the Justice Department, and law enforcement on behalf of the Chinese, including contacts, but not direct discussions with Trump.
The object of the lobbying conspiracy, the indictment said, was “to make millions of dollars by taking advantage of Broidy’s access and his perceived influence with the president and his administration.”
READ: Former Goldman Sachs banker seeks review of 1MDB charges in Malaysia
The indictment came just weeks after a key Low and Broidy partner, Hawaiian businesswoman Nickie Mali Lum Davis, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal lobbying in both the 1MDB case and the Guo case.
Guo remains in the United States, where he has continued to campaign against the Beijing authorities, working closely with another longtime Trump associate, Steve Bannon.
Bannon was arrested in August while aboard Guo’s yacht off the coast of Connecticut and charged with defrauding donors for a Mexican border wall project.
