GET READY FOR JAIL, NAJIB & ROSMAH: U.S. GOVT MOVES TO SEIZE US$98MIL LONDON PENTHOUSE BOUGHT BY JHO LOW WITH 1MDB MONEY – DOJ FILES ANOTHER COURT ACTION

The U.S. government filed lawsuits aiming to seize a London penthouse with views of Buckingham Palace and a nearby office that served as headquarters for a lingerie company because it believes the properties were acquired with funds from a financial scandal in Malaysia.

The U.S. government filed lawsuits aiming to seize a London penthouse with views of Buckingham Palace and a nearby office that served as headquarters for a lingerie company because it believes the properties were acquired with funds from a financial scandal in Malaysia.

The penthouse, office building and another flat are all located on Stratton Street opposite the Ritz hotel in the upmarket Mayfair district. They were acquired with £77 million ($98 million) which financier Jho Low got from a Malaysian state fund called 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, the U.S. Department of Justice said in court documents filed June 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Mr. Low, a flamboyant Malaysian deal maker, is a central figure in an alleged plot to siphon billions of dollars from the fund, according to the Justice Department. The London properties are the latest in a string of homes, art and other assets scattered around the world to be targeted for seizure by the U.S. The Justice Department has previously identified van Gogh and Monet paintings, and luxury real estate in New York, Los Angeles and London, allegedly bought with money stolen from 1MDB.

“Low acquired an interest in the Stratton penthouse and the Stratton flat using 1MDB proceeds,” the Justice Department, which has been working with U.K. authorities, said in the filings. “Low used funds traceable to misappropriated 1MDB proceeds to purchase the Stratton office.” The Justice Department said in the filings it is seeking the forfeiture of the properties in London because they were “derived from violations of U.S. law” and were involved with money-laundering offenses.

The office, acquired for £42 million in 2014, was the headquarters for Myla, a U.K. lingerie company which Mr. Low also acquired with funds traceable to 1MDB, the Justice Department said in its lawsuits. Mr. Low resigned as a director of Myla in November, according to the Companies House business registry. Myla lost £7.59 million in 2015, the latest available figures. A spokesman for Myla couldn’t be reached for comment.

1MDB was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose stepson is described as a friend of Mr. Low in court documents. Mr. Najib received more than $1 billion in his personal bank accounts—including more than $800 million originating with the state fund—via a network of offshore funds and accounts controlled by Mr. Low and his associates, according to Malaysian investigation documents viewed by the Journal and to people familiar with the U.S. investigation.

The 1MDB scandal unfolded when the Malaysian fund, which had run up a multibillion-dollar debt to finance development but had little to show for it, began struggling to repay. Later, billions of dollars were found to be missing. Investigations in search of the money sprang up in six countries.

The U.S. asset-seizure suits refer to a “Malaysian Official 1” who allegedly received hundreds of millions of dollars siphoned from 1MDB. “Malaysian Official 1” refers to Mr. Najib, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.

Mr. Najib and 1MDB have denied wrongdoing and promised to cooperate with investigations. Mr. Najib has been cleared by the Malaysian attorney general, who has said the funds that went into Mr. Najib’s account were a legal political donation from Saudi Arabia and that most of the money was returned.

Mr. Low, whose full name is Low Taek Jho, and his lawyers didn’t respond to requests to comment Monday. In the past, Mr. Low has told news organizations he was the victim of political infighting in Malaysia and was only an informal adviser to 1MDB. Lawyers for Mr. Low’s family have said they would contest the U.S. asset-seizure lawsuits.

In 2010, Mr. Low wired about £35 million to a Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC account in London named “Macfarlanes LLP Client Account Number 1,” according to the most recent legal filings. The money was used to buy the Stratton Street penthouse and flat, according to the filings. Macfarlanes LLP is a U.K. law firm. A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment. A spokeswoman for RBS also declined to comment.

The previous owner of the Stratton Street penthouse has said that it was sold in 2010 for “a record Mayfair price,” without disclosing the amount.

Corrections & Amplifications
The Justice Department filed court documents seeking to seize the London properties in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated court documents had also been filed in the U.K.

– WSJ