United States authorities have obtained a court order to seize a luxury condominium unit in New York City allegedly purchased using funds misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
According to the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), the condominium was allegedly bought for the benefit of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, through his personal assistant, Catherine Tan.
The DoJ said Tan had also retained rental income generated from the property, with the proceeds now forfeited as part of the legal action.
The latest court order officially concludes a civil forfeiture case filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California involving efforts to recover more than US$6 million (RM23.8 million) in assets linked to an international money laundering conspiracy tied to 1MDB.
In a statement, the DoJ noted that the Malaysian government originally established 1MDB to drive economic growth through foreign investments and global partnerships.
“Its funds were intended to improve the wellbeing of the Malaysian people,” the department said.
“Instead, funds held by 1MDB and proceeds from bonds issued on behalf of 1MDB were allegedly misappropriated and used by Low and his associates to purchase extravagant assets.”
Authorities said the misused funds were allegedly spent on luxury properties in Beverly Hills, New York and London, a 300-foot superyacht, as well as expensive artwork by renowned painters Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh.
The funds were also allegedly channelled into several major business ventures, including a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills, the film production company behind The Wolf of Wall Street, redevelopment projects involving the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan and investments in EMI, one of the world’s largest private music-rights companies.
Jho Low currently faces multiple corruption and money laundering charges in both the US and Malaysia over his alleged central role in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
He has consistently denied wrongdoing, while his current whereabouts remain unknown.
Last month, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced that Malaysia had successfully recovered RM31.3 billion, equivalent to 74.53 per cent of the RM42 billion believed to have been misappropriated from 1MDB as of 2025.
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the recovery rate exceeded the international average, which typically ranges between 60 and 70 per cent.
