Libel lawyer Schillings paid $1.3m for Jho Low PR campaign
London-based law firm Schillings has received $1.3m (£1m) for its work on a public relations campaign for fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low.
The company, which specialises in managing the reputations of wealthy clients and represents the Duchess of Sussex, was paid the sum between January 2019 and March 2020, according to US lobbying disclosures.
The Guardian first reported that some of its activities were aimed at “informing public opinion” in the US and that its work included helping to prepare press releases and maintain a website for Mr Low.
“Disclosures submitted to the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) show Schillings has supported this effort, providing ‘legal and consulting advice and research in support of the work’ of PR advisers,” the report said.
Mr Low has been accused by US and Malaysian prosecutors of masterminding a money-laundering scheme that embezzled billions of dollars from the 1MDB investment fund.
He is facing two US criminal indictments and is reportedly the subject of international arrest notices. He denies wrongdoing.
It is one of the world’s biggest corruption scandals and was a major factor behind an electoral earthquake in May 2018 that toppled former prime minister Najib Razak’s long-ruling coalition, paving the way for Mahathir Mohamad’s return to power.
Last summer Malaysia also brought charges against a number of Goldman's London-based bankers under an act that means bosses employed at the time of the offence are also held to account.
They include its top banker in Europe, Richard Gnodde, and its former top banker Michael Sherwood, one of the City's best-known figures.
He resigned from Goldman just months after getting caught up in the fall-out from the collapse of BHS in 2016. The bank said at the time that those charges were "misdirected and will be vigorously defended".
