KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho will be forced to return to the country if he wishes to use his Malaysian passport again.

Immigration director-general Datuk Mustafar Ali announced today that the passport of the Penang-born, popularly known as Jho Low, was cancelled effective June 15.

He said the move was to facilitate investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The 1MDB scandal saw the first prosecution today against Pekan MP Datuk Seri Najib Razak who created Malaysian history as the first former prime minister to be charged with criminal breach of trust.

The former prime minister who was also finance minister from March 2009 to May this year was also slapped with an additional count of abusing his position for self-gratification under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, one of the laws introduced during his tenure.