Return of 12 artworks linked to 1MDB to be ‘very costly’

An MACC source says the agency is in the process of bringing the high-value assets, worth more than US$30 million in total, back to Malaysia.

MACC said its latest 1MDB investigations involve former executive director Tang Keng Chee, who owns luxury homes overseas and is accused of misappropriating funds from foreign law firms. (Reuters pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The return of 12 high-value paintings linked to 1MDB to Malaysia will be “very costly” due to the various logistical factors it will involve, according to a source at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

The source said the anti-graft agency was in the process of bringing the assets worth more than US$30 million in total back to Malaysia, with MACC reviewing the costs involved and logistical needs.

“Assets under the care of Sotheby’s are now in the process of being brought back to Malaysia, while assets under Christie’s can only be handed over through a US court order,” the source said, referring to the two leading auction houses.

The court order will be obtained through cooperation with the US Department of Justice.

“The cost of bringing back these assets is very high because they require special storage areas, periodical checks, conservation treatment, and continuous maintenance, on top of close coordination among the foreign enforcement agencies,” the source added.

The return of the 12 paintings owned by former 1MDB general counsel Loo Ai Swan, better known as Jasmine Loo, was secured through a formal agreement between MACC and the DoJ.

They were in the custody of the DoJ and were being held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Among the identified works of art are Pablo Picasso’s lithograph L’Ecuyere et les Clowns, a Joan Miró’s work in the Composition series, William H Bailey’s Still Life; Alexander Calder’s Studies for Sculpture; and a work by Henri Matisse in his Femme Assise series.

The titles of these artworks refer to a series of lithographs, prints or paintings done by the artists. It is currently not known which painting or lithograph in the various series was seized.

Separately, MACC special operations senior director Zamri Zainul Abidin said the agency is still working on tracking down more 1MDB-linked assets, including properties and financial assets.

He said MACC’s latest investigations involve former 1MDB executive director Tang Keng Chee, or Casey Tang, who owns luxury homes overseas and is accused of misappropriating funds from foreign law firms. - FMT