LOS ANGELES – The US is conducting a criminal investigation into money stolen from 1MDB that allegedly was used to buy more than US$1 billion in real estate and other assets.
Court filings by the Department of Justice (DoJ) Thursday show the US is escalating its probe in a worldwide effort to track how much of the money that was raised by 1MDB for development projects was used to pay for luxury real estate, art, film productions and more.
DoJ officials asked a judge in Los Angeles to put on hold civil forfeiture lawsuits against assets acquired by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, because pursuing these may have “an adverse effect” on its ability to conduct the criminal investigation.
In its civil cases, the US has alleged that from 2009 through 2015, more than US$4.5 billion belonging to 1MDB was diverted by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.
An FBI agent warned in a court filing that information disclosed in the civil cases may reveal “potential targets and subjects of the investigation and the investigative techniques that have been and will be used in the investigation.”
“Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses,” according to the agent’s declaration.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the US attorney in Los Angeles, had no immediate comment on the Justice Department’s filings.
In its civil cases, the US has alleged that from 2009 through 2015, more than US$4.5 billion belonging to 1MDB was diverted by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.
The Low assets the US is trying to seize include a stake in New York’s Park Lane Hotel, a US$107 million interest in EMI Music Publishing, a US$35 million Bombardier Jet and a US$30 million penthouse at Time Warner Center in New York.
In a second round of 1MDB-related forfeiture lawsuits filed in June, the Justice Department alleged that a US$1.29 million heart-shaped diamond and a US$3.8 million diamond pendant Low gave in 2014 to his then-girlfriend, actress Miranda Kerr, were bought with stolen money.
Low allegedly also gave a US$3.2 million Picasso painting to actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who played the lead in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a movie the US says was financed by Riza Aziz, a stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, using misappropriated 1MDB funds.
Najib, who until last year was the chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board, has denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by Malaysia’s attorney general.
The Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Finance and 1MDB didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment on the latest US filings. 1MDB is wholly-owned by the finance ministry.
Malaysia’s prime minister and attorney general responded angrily to the US forfeiture actions in June and suggested they were politically motivated.
Low also issued a statement in June, saying the US government was continuing “inappropriate efforts to seize assets despite not having proven that any improprieties have occurred.”
“We look forward to the court being presented with the actual facts which demonstrate that the DoJ’s case is completely without foundation,” he said through a representative.
The case is US v. “The Wolf of Wall Street,” 16-cv-05362, US District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).
– FMT
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