US seeks Warhol, Monet paintings associated with 1MDB scandal
02 July, 2020
The United States Department of Justice on Wednesday (Jul 1) said it had been seeking to recover another US$96 million in assets in real estate and artwork linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) international money-laundering conspiracy.
The assets include extravagance property in Paris and paintings by Claude Monet and Andy Warhol from the embezzlement of the 1MDB fund by Malaysian officials, the Justice Department said in a statement.
The agency has up to now recovered or assisted Malaysia in recovering almost US$1.1 billion in assets related to the alleged scheme.
The Malaysian government set up the 1MDB fund in 2009 2009. US officials have estimated that US$4.5 billion was siphoned out of Malaysia by high-level fund officials and associates between 2009 and 2014, in a scandal that has also embroiled Goldman Sachs.
In October, the US Justice Section announced its major ever anti-kleptocracy deal, where fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, decided to turn over US$700 million in assets. Low features denied wrongdoing.
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