PARADISE PAPERS | A cache of leaked correspondences has revealed that billionaire financier Low Taek Jho feared allegations against him related to the 1MDB scandal would result in his extradition back to Malaysia.

In an email dated Aug 10, 2015, Low’s UK-based lawyer Demelza Hassani contacted offshore law firm Appleby’s Cayman Islands office to inquire about extradition laws in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

“Mr Low has recently been the subject of allegations of financial wrongdoing in Malaysia.

“Given the nature of the allegations being made in Malaysia, Mr Low is concerned about his global exposure and is seeking expert advice on international law (including mutual legal assistance requests and/or global restraint orders),” Hassani wrote in the email.

The email was sent just a month after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an exposé that directly implicated Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the 1MDB scandal, along with his associate Low.

It reported that money misappropriated from 1MDB had been allegedly used to fund BN’s election campaign in 2013, and RM2.6 billion of the funds had turned up in the prime minister’s personal bank account.

Some of the funds were purportedly channelled through accounts controlled by Low.

Low, who is popularly known by his moniker Jho Low, has consistently denied wrongdoing over the 1MDB scandal, and has attempted to paint the allegations as “politically motivated”.

He has said that his involvement was only limited to setting up the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) in 2008, which later evolved into 1MDB.

Like Low, Najib has also consistently denied wrongdoing, with attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali clearing him of all charges last year.

Meanwhile in another email dated Aug 11, 2015, Hassani gave a list of specific questions to Appleby’s lawyers...