Jho Low, a Malaysian national, paid Broidy, a former deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee and a vice-chairman of the finance committee of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, $6 million to influence a Justice Department investigation into a corruption scandal involving Low, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Broidy will enter his plea soon, the paper said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Low, a fugitive believed to be living in China allegedly stole billions of dollars from a Malaysian development fund and is wanted in Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States. Broidy’s bid to tamp down the US investigation was unsuccessful.
In addition to attempts to get the Justice Department to scale back the investigation into Low, the charging document says Broidy at one point discussed with others plans to bring about the return to China from the United States Guo Wengui, a businessman who is wanted in China on criminal charges.
Broidy, who at one point was also on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition, in 2018 made headlines when it emerged that he allegedly worked with George Nader, an American adviser to the United Arab Emirates, to influence US policy in opposition to Qatar.
Broidy, a Los Angeles-based investor, was one of the first Jewish Republicans to back Trump in the 2016 presidential cycle.