Malaysia to get Picasso, Matisse artworks linked to 1MDB lawyer
The works are held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s in the US and are worth over US$30 million combined
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia said it will get 12 artworks including those by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Henri Matisse after discussions with US officials to repatriate assets tied to the global corruption scandal at 1MDB.
The works are being held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses in the US and estimated to have a combined value of over US$30 million, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement on Saturday (Dec 13). They were purchased by Jasmine Loo, a former lawyer for the state investment fund, and have been under the custody of the US Justice Department (DOJ).
Talks between the MACC, the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) this week in the US also covered fugitive Low Taek Jho and Fugees rapper Pras Michel, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in part for conspiring to aid Low.
Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal that saw US$4.5 billion illegally syphoned, is said to be hiding in China. Malaysia has been working for years to repatriate Low, who was first charged in absentia in 2018 by a local court with eight counts of money laundering.
In September, Malaysia said it had recovered more assets linked to Low with Singapore’s help, following a global civil forfeiture settlement between the financier and the DOJ.
The DOJ has said that “there remain assets belonging to Jho Low in Singapore which are not included in the US Settlement Agreement,” the MACC said on Saturday.
SEE ALSO
MACC also said other issues discussed involved former Goldman Sachs Group banker Tim Leissner; businessman Tarek Obaid and his company PetroSaudi; and Riza Aziz, the movie producer stepson of the former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The FBI and DOJ reaffirmed their commitment to cross-border cooperation and enhanced international coordination with Malaysia “to ensure that all remaining assets located overseas can be traced, seized and recovered in accordance with the law,” the MACC said.
A US court sentenced Leissner to two years in prison in May after he pleaded guilty to helping loot 1MDB. The German citizen was at the centre of what US prosecutors described as one of the largest financial frauds in history in which billions of US dollars were syphoned from the fund. BLOOMBERG
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
