KUALA LUMPUR:The wife of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, Jesselynn Chuan Teik Ying has failed to get Cypriot citizenship.<br /> <br /> It was after Jesselynn applied for citizenship in 2019 by following in her husband's footsteps, to get asylum in the country.<br /> <br /> According to a Malaysiakini report, through a joint investigation by Sarawak Report and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a company in the United Kingdom (UK) helped Jho Low and his associates obtain Cypriot citizenship.<br /> <br /> "Investigations have found that London-based Henley & Partners helped Jho Low to obtain Cypriot citizenship through its Cyprus-based partner, FidesCorp Services Limited.<br /> <br /> "The company, however, denies Jho Low as their client.<br /> <br /> "Henley & Partners received a payment and commission of US$710,000 (RM3.47 million). The company firmly denied that they acted inappropriately and blamed individual staff members for failing to follow procedure," it was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini on Tuesday.<br /> <br /> Jho Low previously had a Cyprus passport in 2015 when he was linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal which received worldwide attention, including from international investigative bodies.<br /> <br /> In the meantime, the report added, the results of the investigation found that Jesselynn's application was rejected after Jho Low was linked to the scandal as well as the "citizenship-for-investment" scheme of the country was courting heavy scrutiny.<br /> <br /> "By 2019, Low was one of the most famous fugitives in the world. But this didn’t prevent his Cypriot service providers from lending a helping hand yet again," the investigation said.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, according to the report, the Cyprus Orthodox Christian Church was also embroiled in the issue of Jho Low's passport.<br /> <br /> It is alleged that Jho Low lobbied by promising to make certain contributions to the church.<br /> <br /> Jho Low obtained the Cypriot passport through the Cyprus Investment Plan which requires an interested party to deposit five million euros in a Cypriot bank for three years and buy a permanent home worth at least US$500,000 (RM2.44 million).<br /> <br /> He bought an unfinished villa worth five million euros (RM24.4 million) in Cyprus to fulfil the conditions on Sept 23, 2015.<br /> <br /> According to documents obtained by Sarawak Report and OCCRP, Jho Low stated that the funds for the citizenship will be transferred from HSBC in Hong Kong.<br /> <br /> On September 9, 2020, the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador, said his department had tracked down several transactions made by Jho Low, among them to buy land in Cyprus.