On Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced that they have reached an agreement regarding the alleged embezzlement of $4.5 billion from the Malaysian sovereign investment fund, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, also known as 1MDB.
Low Taek Jho, famously known as Jho Low, along with his family and trust entities that he founded, have reached an agreement. The agreement involves a civil forfeiture of over $100 million.
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According to the DOJ, Malaysia has already received over $1.4 billion in assets related to the scheme prior to this agreement.
According to a statement by the DOJ, the Low Parties have committed to collaborating in the transfer of additional assets associated with 1MDB funds located in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Singapore to Malaysia. The agreement entails the department working with foreign partners to aid in the liquidation and repatriation of these assets to Malaysia.
According to civil forfeiture complaints cited by the DOJ, high-level officials of 1MDB and their associates, including Low, were allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy involving international money laundering and bribery. This misconduct led to the misappropriation of over $4.5 billion belonging to 1MDB between 2009 and 2015.
As per the agreement, civil forfeiture actions cover various assets, including a luxurious apartment in Paris and artwork by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol and Claude Monet. These assets were purchased by Low for approximately $35 million and are subject to forfeiture.
The authorities are seizing around $67 million worth of real estate and bank accounts in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Singapore. These assets will be forfeited as a part of the ongoing investigation.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has disclosed that Low is not only facing civil forfeiture but also criminal charges. These charges include allegations of a conspiracy to launder billions of dollars that were embezzled from 1MDB, as well as conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by allegedly paying bribes to various officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, he is facing charges in the District of Columbia for allegedly conspiring to make and conceal foreign and conduit campaign contributions during the 2012 United States presidential election.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sent to prison in August 2022 after his sentence for stealing billions from the 1MDB fund was upheld by the top court. It is worth noting that Razak was the one who established the fund after assuming office in 2009.
In October 2020, Goldman Sachs and its Malaysian subsidiary confessed to bribery charges in relation to the 1MDB scandal and agreed to pay a hefty fine of $2.9 billion.
Pras Michel, a founding member of the U.S. hip-hop group the Fugees, was convicted in April 2023 for his involvement in a multi-million-dollar conspiracy. The scheme was aimed at influencing the White House during two administrations, and Michel was found to have worked as an agent for China as part of the elaborate plan, allegedly orchestrated by Low.
