U.S. Agrees 1MDB Recovery Deal With Malaysian Jho Low

U.S. Agrees 1MDB Recovery Deal With Malaysian Jho Low
Equanimity, the US$250 million luxury yacht that fugitive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho allegedly bought with funds embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in Selangors, Malaysia, on Aug. 8, 2018. (Ore Huiying/Getty Images)
Reuters
10/31/2019
Updated:
10/31/2019

The U.S. Justice Department on Oct. 31 reached a settlement deal with Malaysian financier Jho Low to recover almost $1 billion in funds the fugitive and his family had misappropriated from Malaysian investment fund 1MDB.

High-level officials of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and associates including Low had siphoned over $4.5 billion belonging to the state-owned wealth fund from 2009 to 2015, the Justice Department said.

Officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Deutsche Bank have all been caught up in probes into multi-year conspiracy.

Low faced charges in both United States and Malaysia over his central role in the scandal at 1MDB, which was founded by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Low agreed to give up high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London and other business investments totaling $700 million, the Justice Department said in a statement and court document filed on Wednesday. The settlement also included assets in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.