DOJ details 1MDB's plot to cover up 'relatively worthless' fund units

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This is an article which is simple enough to understand with some charts to make it easier. I hope Malaysian will read this and do all they can to get rid of MO1  

The US Department of Justice (DOJ), in its third and newest asset seizure filing announced last night, revealed a previously undisclosed phase in which more of 1MDB funds were allegedly siphoned.

The 251-page filing described this fourth part as the "Options Buyback" phase in which US$850 million was siphoned from two loans totalling US$1.225 billion.

1MDB, through its subsidiary 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, had taken the US$250 million and US$975 million loans from Deutsche Bank.

This money, like in previous phases, was partially used for the benefit of certain individuals including executives of 1MDB and Aabar Investments PJS as well Malaysian officials and their relatives.

However, a key difference, was that a significant sum was also used to "cover the hole" in 1MDB's subsidiary Brazen Sky Limited, which claimed to have US$2.318 billion worth of "fund units" in Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund (Bridge Global Fund), managed by Bridge Partners Investment Management Limited, but the DOJ said is "relatively worthless".

This was achieved by recycling the Deutsche Bank loan through a network of transactions that made it appear as if Brazen Sky was progressively redeeming the fund units for cash when they were, in fact, the same money going in circles.

Before delving into the elaborate and complex scheme in the cover-up of the fund units, it should be noted that the first DOJ filing had outlined three other phases in which 1MDB's funds were allegedly siphoned.

One of this was the Good Star phase where 1MDB had invested US$1.83 billion in a bogus joint-venture with PetroSaudi International and US$1.03 billion of this money was allegedly siphoned to Penang billionaire Jho Low's Good Star Limited.

1MDB later declared it had sold the investment and received US$2.318 billion in shares, which included a handsome US$488 million profit on its original investment.

It then invested the sum in "fund units" managed by Bridge Partners Investment Management Limited.

In reality, the "fund units" cannot be worth US$2.318 billion as at least US$1.03 billion had been siphoned and the additional US$488 million profit also did not exist, leaving the fund units being worth no more than US$800 million, if not less or any at all.

So then how did 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy, in a statement on Oct 12, 2015, announce that 1MDB had redeemed US$1.39 million of the US$2.3 billion "fund units" held by Brazen Sky Limited?

How conspirators recycled 1MDB funds

According to The DOJ, it started on Sept 5, 2014, when 1MDB drew down US$223 million out of the US$975 million loan from Deustche Bank.

1MDB misrepresented to Deutsche Bank that the loan was intended to buy back share options from Aabar Investments PJS, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

The money was then disbursed to Aabar Investments PJS Limited (Seychelles) (Aabar-Seychelles), a company owned by rogue Aabar official and Jho Low's associate Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny, but was made to appear like the subsidiary of IPIC.

Aabar-Seychelles then transferred US$111 million to Lambasa Global Opportunity Fund which then passed US$110 million to Bridge Global Fund.

On Sept 11, 2014, Bridge Global Fund then transferred the US$110 million to Brazen Sky, which was framed as a "redemption" but ultimately originated from 1MDB's Deustche Bank loan.

A day later, Brazen Sky transferred US$94 million of the money to 1MDB Global Investments Limited, another subsidiary of 1MDB.

"The purpose of this unnecessarily complicated funds flow was to create the appearance that fund units in the Brazen Sky Account were being redeemed for cash and being paid forward to 1MDB, thereby fraudulently disguising the fact that the fund units were illiquid and relatively worthless," the DOJ said in its filing.

On Sept 29, 2014, after Aabar-Seychelles received a second tranche totalling US$458 million from the US$975 million Deustche Bank loan, it repeated the same pattern by sending US$378 million to Lambasa which then passed US$375 million to Bridge Global which in turned allowed Brazen Sky to "redeem" the money.

On Oct 7, 2014, Brazen Sky then sent US$375 million to 1MDB Global. However, this time, 1MDB Global sent US$356 million back to Aabar-Seychelles.

This process was repeated for another five times.

"By the end of November 2014, proceeds from the first tranche of the $975 million loan had passed through the Brazen Sky account once, and proceeds of the second tranche of the loan had passed through the Brazen Sky Account six times," said the DOJ.

When this repetitive process was finally completed, it appeared as if Brazen Sky had redeemed US$1.412 billion from its "fund units".

However, 1MDB faced a headache as the fraudulently valued Brazen Sky fund units were used as collateral for the Deutsche Bank Loan, which condition included that Brazen Sky cannot transfer its money out.

However, in order to recycle the money, the conspirators had no choice but to breach the loan condition.

'1MDB duped Deutsche Bank'

The DOJ found that 1MDB's executive director of finance, described as "1MDB Officer 4", had faked documents to Deutsche Bank to convince them that no money had left Brazen Sky's account.

1MDB ultimately defaulted on the US$975 million loan, which was followed by Deutsche Bank's demanding an early repayment upon discovery of the deception in May 2015.

IPIC later came in with a US$1 billion emergency loan to help 1MDB make the loan repayment but the white knight deal had since soured and turned into an arbitration case.

Putrajaya had since sought for a settlement with IPIC and had, among others, agreed to repay the US$1 billion loan, with interest, in two tranches.

Ironically, Putrajaya had indicated that 1MDB plans to repay part of the sum using the remaining of Brazen Sky's "fund units", which it claimed is worth US$940 million but its true value remains suspect.

Apart from the Brazen Sky recycling, part of the US$975 million Deutsche Bank loan also benefitted Jho Low, Eric Tan Kim Long (Jho Low's alias) and another rogue Aabar executive Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, totalling around US$29 million.

The US$975 million Deutsche Bank loan had received a letter of support from Malaysian Official 1.

"Internal Deutsche Bank records reflect that 1MDB officials opted to provide a Letter of Support signed by Malaysian Offical 1, rather than some form of guarantee by 1MDB, at least in part because a letter of support did not require Bank Negara or Cabinet approval.

"At the request of 1MDB, all references to the Letter of Support were removed from the Facility Agreement," said the DOJ.

Apart from the US$975 million loan, 1MDB also took out an earlier US$250 million loan from Deutsche Bank.

The disbursement of that loan began on May 28, 2014 and by June 3, 2014, at least US$142 million ended up in Jho Low's personal bank accounts.

Jho Low used the money to purchase a 300-foot luxury yacht.

At least US$1,277,250 of this loan also found its way into the personal bank account of Malaysian Official 1 on June 18, 2014.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385788#ixzz4k8kYUtvw

'Jho Low's award-winning superyacht bought with 1MDB funds'

Also do read the other related articles from Malaysiakini here

DOJ: Najib’s stepson bought properties, posters using funds diverted to Aabar BVI  
DOJ: Jho Low spent US$10m on jewellery for Aussie model, mom
Yacht, diamonds and more in DOJ's latest 1MDB filing
'Dual national Low bought over US$1b in properties with 1MDB cash'DOJ: US$620m returned 'donation' used to buy pink diamond for MO1's wife

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Tycoon Jho Low’s superyacht “The Equanimity” had been reported to be the scene of lavish parties featuring Hollywood celebrities.

Now, court filings by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that the ship had been built and maintained using over US$250 million misappropriated from 1MDB.

In a civil forfeiture suit filed yesterday, the DOJ alleged the money was transferred to a Caledonian Bank account in the Cayman Islands held under the name “World View Ltd” in four major tranches.

“Upon information and belief, the funds transferred into the World View Account were used to acquire The Equanimity and were transmitted in a manner intended to conceal the origin, source, and ownership of criminal proceeds […]

“Funds were moved through multiple accounts owned by different entities on or about the same day in an unnecessarily complex manner with no apparent business purpose.

“For instance, there is no apparent commercial reason that Low would layer his transaction by funneling the exact same amount of money through multiple bank accounts at the same financial institution on or about the same day,” said the DOJ.

The department said Low had claimed in an email to his London lawyer and a senior BSI banker that World View Ltd is a family trust for his family.

The DOJ is seeking the civil forfeiture of the yacht together with other assets.

This is in addition to the US$100 million in London properties it sought last week, and the over US$1 billion in various assets it sought in July last year.

In a press release, the DOJ said the total assets subject to forfeiture in relation to alleged misappropriation of 1MDB funds adds up to almost US$1.7 billion.

This represents the largest action ever under the DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which seeks to recover and repatriate the proceeds of large scale foreign official corruption that had been laundered through the US financial system.

‘Helicopter landing pad, experimental shower and more’

According to yesterday’s filing, The Equanimity is a 300-foot (91.4-metre) yacht built by Oceanco in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2014, and was registered in the Cayman Islands.

It could carry 26 guests and up to 33 crew members. Its facilities included a helicopter landing pad, gymnasium, cinema, sauna, steam room, an experimental shower, and a plunge pool. It had won the “Best in Show” award at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2014.

A report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) last year said Low had hosted a number of parties featuring celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio on board.

The last of these was reportedly a birthday bash off the coast of South Korea in 2015, but SCMP noted that Low’s lawyers previously denied that the Penang-born businessman owned the vessel.

Witnesses at a 1MDB-related trial in Singapore testified that former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei had been flying in Low’s jet and sailing on The Equanimity after taking on a job for the latter.

Yeo was later sentenced to 30-months jail for allegedly covering up money laundering, and is appealing his conviction.

Meanwhile, the DOJ filing alleged that the first tranche in the World View Ltd account was for US$27.2 million on Jan 7, 2014.

The money supposedly originated from misappropriated 1MDB funds laundered through the sale of Low’s stake in the Park Lane hotel.

The next tranche came from Low’s personal bank account to the World View account between Feb 5 and April 2, 2014, totalling US$29.2 million.

The sum supposedly represented a portion of the proceeds of the Park Lane sale that had been used to invest in a joint venture with the International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) to acquire Coastal Energy.

The third tranche was for US$65.5 million on or about April 11, 2014, this time from a Low-controlled account held under the name Triple Eight Ltd.

Low had supposedly used money misappropriated from 1MDB’s 2013 bond sale to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars worth of artworks, which he then used to pledge seven pieces worth US$144 million (RM615 million) as collateral to secure a US$107 million loan from Sotheby’s Financial Services.

The money was wired to the Triple Eight account, which transferred US$65.5 million to the World View account the following day.

These artworks included “La maison de Vincent a Arles” by Vincent Van Gogh, “Saint-Georges Majeur” by Claude Monet and “Tic Tac Toe” by Calder, among others.

Low also pledged other artworks in addition to these, totalling another US$100 million.

The final tranche of US$141 million supposedly originated from Deutsche Bank’s bridge loan to 1MDB subsidiary 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd (1MEHL).

The DOJ claimed that the US$250 million loan was given on May 26, 2014 ostensibly to buy back options from the IPIC subsidiary Aabar.

However, over US$240 million (RM1.02 billion) of the loan had instead gone to an unrelated subsidiary that went by the same name (Aabar-BVI), and later moved through several intermediaries before being credited to World View via Low’s personal bank account.

‘Top of the line mattress, sister’s birthday party’

In the filings, the DOJ also claimed that Low had repeatedly stressed the importance of secrecy as he arranged the loan from Sotheby’s Financial Services.

In an email to a Sotheby’s executive dated March 28, 2014, Low purportedly said, “Most important is that the client name or the British Virgin Islands borrower (then guarantor name) does not show up in any public searchable document or public accessible document, or be linked to loan or artworks.”

In another email dated March 20, 2014, the same executive supposedly told his colleagues in an email, “(The borrower) doesn’t want us to use his name in our communications, he wants to be referred to as ‘the client’ and we will refer to this transaction as Project Cheetah (referring to the speed at which we are trying to move). Confidentiality is absolutely critical to him.”

According to the DOJ, Low’s lawyer had prepared a “structure chart” showing The Equanimity’s ownership structure on or about March 24, 2014.

The vessel was to be owned by the Cayman Islands-based company Equanimity (Cayman) Ltd, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equanimity Holdings (Cayman) Ltd.

Equanimity Holdings is in turn controlled by Global View Discretionary Trust, for which World View is a trustee of.

Meanwhile, as the yacht was being built, Low purportedly made plans on what to do with the vessel.

He and his parents purportedly flew from Barcelona to Rotterdam on Sept 9, 2013 to spend the following day viewing the shipyard and yacht.

On May 21 the following year, he sent an email to an Oceanco executive asking the latter to seek expert advice on “most top of the line and expensive with most functions for mattress…”

Ten days later, he sent an email to an Oceanco executive to make plans for celebrating his sister May Lin’s birthday aboard The Equanimity.

“Would it be appropriate to make a dragon-cake with the text ‘Happy birthday May Lin’. Celebrate birthday during the river cruise Saturday as a surprise? Please let me know your ideas,” he purportedly wrote.

According to a June 10 thank-you email from the Oceanco executive, Low also threw a delivery party for those who had worked on the vessel, followed by a christening ceremony and a cruise the next day.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385765#ixzz4k80EVvks

DOJ: Najib’s stepson bought properties, posters using funds diverted to Aabar BVI

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Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz had acquired properties abroad and expensive movie posters using funds misappropriated from 1MDB through Aabar BVI, claimed the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

Apart from properties in the US, Riza also purportedly purchased a property in Belgravia, London, United Kingdom.

The DOJ said Riza purchased the property in July 2012 for US$41.79 million from his businessman friend Jho Low, who purchased it two years earlier using 1MDB funds via his Good Star account.

"(Riza) Aziz paid Low to acquire the Qentas Townhouse using funds traceable to diverted 2012 bond proceeds," said the DOJ in its 251-page third 1MDB-related filing yesterday.

Aabar BVI had purportedly received US$1.367 billion diverted from bonds raised by 1MDB for power purchase agreements in 2012.

Aabar BVI had transferred US$133 million from the 2012 bond proceeds on June 18, 2012 to Riza's Red Granite Capital account at BSI Bank in Singapore.

"On or about June 20, 2012 - approximately two days later - Riza transferred US$58.5 million from his Red Granite Capital account to ‘Shearman IOLA account’ at Citibank,” said the DOJ.

The Shearman IOLA account, it stated, transferred US$43 million from the same funds held on behalf of Riza the next day to an account maintained by Shearman & Sterling’s London office for the purchase of the Qentas Townhouse from Low.

"Proceeds of the sale of the Qentas Townhouse were ultimately transferred to Low and used to acquire an interest in the Viceroy Hotel Group," it added.

Although Riza claimed beneficial ownership of Qentas in his 2012 tax return, that tax return listed a Los Angeles address for Qentas, noted the DOJ.

The London property was not the only one which Riza purchased from Low.

The DOJ claimed that after Low bought a Hillcrest property in Beverly Hills, California in 2010 using funds from 1MDB, the property was transferred to Riza through funds from Aabar BVI.

The 2010 acquisition of the Park Laurel Condominium in New York by Low was subsequently acquired by Riza in 2012 for US$35.5 million compared to Low's purchase of US$23.98 million of the property two years earlier.

‘Obsessed over movie posters’

Apart from this, the DOJ revealed that Riza started collecting limited edition movie posters also in 2012.

The expensive movie posters were similarly bought using funds from Aabar BVI, it alleged.

Riza bought a 1939 "Wizard of Oz" movie poster released the same year for US$75,000 on Oct 16, 2012.

Based on an email dated Oct 8, 2012, the owner of Cinema Archives had told Riza and his company Red Granite Pictures' co-founder Joey McFarland about the “Wizard of Oz” movie poster and that there were supposedly only two copies and the other was owned by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Thereafter, from either on or about June 11, 2013 to March 11, 2014, the DOJ said Riza had sent at least eight wire transfers totalling US$4.28 million from his Red Granite Capital account to an account at Bank of America held by Cinema Archives for various movie posters and other memorabilia.

This included some 70 items ranging from several thousand dollars to US$400,000.

In October 2012, the DOJ said Riza also purchased a rare 1927 movie poster from Cinema Archives for US$1.2 million using funds from "Alsen Chance account" that were traceable to the 2012 bond proceeds.

"The walls of the Park Laurel Condominium, where Riza lived, are covered in movie posters that Riza acquired using funds from Aabar BVI,” it added.

Both Riza and McFarland had purportedly admitted to being obsessive with purchasing movie posters and memorabilia.

Below is an email exchange beginning on Nov 29, 2013, between Riza, McFarland and the owner of Cinema Archives.

McFarland had started the conversation by sending Riza and the Cinema Archives owner a list of movie posters.

McFarland: "I have decided – I have to own these. Its [sic] a must. Not to mention a 1000 others... Can’t sleep – obsessing.”

Riza: “Hahaha now you feel my pain!! Mwahahahaha – $$$$."

McFarland: "... I’m obsessing over posters... we are such neurotic obsessive creatures ... WE HAVE TO OWN THEM ALL."

Funds transferred from Aabar BVI to Riza's Red Granite Capital account were also used to fund Red Granite Pictures, the film company he co-founded with McFarland.

The company had produced several films such as “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Friends with Kids,” and “Dumb and Dumber To.”

The DOJ said that between June 20, 2012 – two days after Aabar BVI sent its first wire to Red Granite Capital – and Nov 20, 2012, eleven wires totalling US$64 million were sent from the Red Granite Capital account to an account at City National Bank in the US maintained by Red Granite Pictures.

"These funds transferred to Red Granite Pictures in the United States were then used to fund Red Granite Picture’s operations, including the production of the film 'The Wolf of Wall Street',” it added.

Funds sent from Aabar BVI to Red Granite Capital, which was transferred into the US for Red Granite Pictures however did not represent a legitimate investment by 1MDB, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) or Aabar in Red Granite Pictures, noted the DOJ.

"And balance sheets for Red Granite Pictures and Red Granite Capital show no payments to 1MDB, IPIC, or Aabar indicative of any investment return," it said.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385764#ixzz4k7zp87y5

DOJ: Jho Low spent US$10m on jewellery for Aussie model, mom

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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused Penang-born tycoon Jho Low and his associate Eric Tan of spending a whopping US$200 million on jewellery.

Though the DOJ did not list out all the alleged purchases, it however claimed that Low alone spent at least US$9.9 million on jewellery for Australian model Miranda Kerr (photo), the country's first Victoria Secret's model, as well as his mother.

Low also allegedly spent US$28.6 million on jewellery for the wife of Malaysian Official 1.

According to the DOJ, the first recorded purchase by the businessman using 1MDB-linked monies dated back to 2012 when he bought a diamond ring and matching diamond earrings for his mother.

Together with an engagement ring for an "unidentified woman", Low's total bill for the jewellery from Lorraine Schwartz was US$2.84 million.

On Dec 5, 2012, Low allegedly paid for this using part of the US$1.367 billion misappropriated from 1MDB in what the DOJ described as the Aabar BVI phase.

This is when up to 40 percent of proceeds raised through two bond offerings were transferred to a British Virgin "Islands entity called Aabar Investments PJS Limited (Aabar BVI).

Aabar BVI is one of several companies created to give the false impression that it is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC).

The money to pay for Low's mother's jewellery went through Good Star Limited as well as the accounts of the businessman’s father in Singapore.

When Bank of Singapore (BSI) officers enquired about the transfer to his father, Low explained that it was part of his "family tradition" to give parents proceeds when "good wealth creation is generated."

Meanwhile, between February and November 2014, Low is accused of having purchased four sets of jewellery from Schwartz as gifts for Kerr.

The first is an 11.72-carat heart-shaped diamond worth US1.29 million that Low gave Kerr as a Valentine's Day gift.

Low is said to have bought this using funds diverted from 1MDB from the proceeds of a third bond offering in 2013.

These funds are said to have been laundered through the purchase of the Park Lane Hotel in New York, and later through the joint purchase of US energy firm Coastal Energy.

The next gift Low bought for Kerr was a matching "18k white gold diamond" set worth US$1.98 million, which he gave her while on an excursion on board his yacht in late July and early August 2014.

Then in October, 2014, he bought the model 11-carat diamond earrings with a purchasing price of US$1.05 million.

Low had also bought an 8.88-carat diamond pendant worth US$3.8 million for Kerr in November, 2014.

The DOJ alleged that the purchases between July and November, 2014 were paid for using portions of the US$850 million siphoned out of US$1.225 million in loans 1MDB took from Deutsche Bank in what it described as the "Option Buyback" phase.

Besides the jewellery for Kerr, money misappropriated from the Deustche Bank loan was also used by Low to pay for 27 different 18-carat gold necklaces and bracelets worth a total of US$1.3 million that were purportedly selected by MO1's wife in October, 2014.

The businessman had also allegedly paid US$27.3 million for a pink diamond necklace for MO1's wife, using portions of the US$620 million MO1 had returned to accounts Low controlled.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385768#ixzz4k7zIXVKD

Yacht, diamonds and more in DOJ's latest 1MDB filing

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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) last night announced its most significant milestone since July 21 last year, when US investigators first went public on the 1MDB scandal and declared that Malaysians had been defrauded on an enormous scale.

At that time, US investigators said more than US$3 billion was allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB and sought to seize around US$1 billion in ill-gotten assets.

In the third and latest filing last night, the DOJ now puts the allegedly misappropriated figure at US$4.5 billion and is seeking to seize US$1.7 billion in assets purportedly acquired using funds stolen from 1MDB.

Among the list of items to be seized are a yacht, diamond jewellery, fitness chain and artworks.

“Today’s complaints reveal another chapter of this multi-year, multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme, bringing the total identified stolen proceeds to $4.5 billion,” said acting assistant attorney-general Kenneth A Blanco in a media conference call.

“This money financed the lavish lifestyles of the alleged co-conspirators at the expense and detriment of the Malaysian people.

"We are unwavering in our commitment to ensure the US is not a safe haven for corrupt individuals and kleptocrats to hide their ill-gotten wealth or money, and that recovered assets be returned to the victims from which they were taken," he added.

The US$1 billion forfeiture sought in the first filing on July 21 last year, as well as the second filing of US$100 million last week and another US$540 million in the latest filing, makes this the largest action brought by the DOJ's Kleptocracy Asset Recover Initiative.

Acting US attorney Sandra R Brown said the billions of dollars was meant to help the Malaysian people but was instead "used by a small number of individuals to fuel their astonishing greed".

Meanwhile, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) criminal investigation division deputy director Stephen E Richardson highlighted the agency's role in combating international corruption.

“When corrupt foreign officials launder funds through the US in furtherance of their criminal activity, the FBI works tirelessly to help hold those officials accountable, and recover the misappropriated funds,” he said.

More 1MDB funds allegedly siphoned

The new filing is significant as it highlighted the existence of a previously unknown phase in which more of 1MDB's funds were allegedly siphoned, taking place in 2014.

It revealed how US$850 million out of US$1.225 billion in loans 1MDB took from Deutsche Bank was siphoned in what it described as the "Option Buyback" phase.

Previously, the DOJ highlighted how at least US$4.053 billion was diverted from 1MDB in the Good Star, Aabar BVI and Tanore phases.

However, the SRC International phase, which had been highlighted by Swiss investigators, remains a mystery even though the DOJ in its latest filing touched on some details of how the former 1MDB subsidiary was used for pass-through transactions.

Among the additional assets, allegedly acquired using stolen 1MDB funds, which the DOJ seeks to seize in the new filing include:

• The Equanimity yacht;
• 2.5 million shares of Series D Preferred Stock in Palantir Technologies, a software company;
• All rights and interests in the Electrum Group, an investment manager company;
• Rights to the film "Dumb and Dumber" produced by Red Granite Pictures;
• Rights to the film "Daddy's Home" produced by Red Granite Pictures;
• A single frame 3-sheet colour lithograph poster by German artist Heinz Schulz Neudamnn for the 1927 silent film "Metropolis";
• All rights and interests in Fly Wheel Sports, a fitness club chain;
• One 11.72-carat heart-shaped diamond;
• One 8.88-carat fancy intense pink diamond pendant surrounded by 11-carat fancy intense pink diamonds;
• One 18-carat white gold diamond jewellery set, including a diamond necklace, diamond earring, diamond bracelet, and diamond ring;
• One pair of diamond earrings and matching diamond ring, consisting a 7.53-carat flawless type 2A diamond, a 3.05-carat flawless type 2A diamond and a 3.08-carat flawless type 2A diamond;
• A painting entitled “Nature Morte au Crane de Taureau” by Pablo Picasso;
• A collage entitled “Redman One” by Jean-Michel Basquiat;
• A photograph entitled “Boy with the Toy Hand Grenade” by Diane Arbus;

The assets which the DOJ sought to seize in previous filings include:

• The L’emritage property, including the L'Ermitage Hotel at 9291 Burton Way, Beverly Hills, California 90210;
• The L’ermitage business assets that include all chattels and intangible assets, inventory and equipment maintained by LBH Real Estate;
• Hillcrest property 1: a real property located in Beverly Hills, California;
• The Park Laurel condominium located in New York that is owned by Park Laurel Acquisition LLC;
• A Bombardier Global 5000 jet with the manufactured serial number 9625 and registration number N689WM, with two Rolls Royce engines;
• Time Warner Penthouse located in New York owned by 80 Columbus Circle (NYC) LLC;
• The Oriole mansion located in Los Angeles, California;
• The Greene condominium located in New York, owned by 118 Greene Street (NYC) LLC;
• EMI Assets of any rights including copyright and intellectual property rights, as well as the right to collect and receive any profits owned by JW Nile (BVI) Ltd;
• Symphony CP (Park Lane) LLC assets, which is a Delaware limited liability company owned directly or indirectly by Symphony CP Investments LLC and Symphony CP Investments Holdings LLC, based in New York, which owns what is known as the Park Lane Hotel;
• The Walker Tower Penthouse which is located in New York, and owned by 212 West 18th Street LLC;
• The Laurel Beverly Hills mansion, located in Beverly Hills, California, and owned by Laurel Beverly Hills Holdings;
• Hillcrest Property 2: which like Hillcrest Property 1, is located in Beverly Hills, California;
• A Vincent Van Gogh Artwork titled “La maison de Vincent a Arlest”;
• A Claude Monet painting titled “Saint-Georges Majeur”;
• Another Claude Monet painting titled “Nympheas avec Reflets de Hautes Herbes”; and
• The Qentas townhouse located in London, UK.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385758#ixzz4k7yj5FBs

'Dual national Low bought over US$1b in properties with 1MDB cash'

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Penang-born businessman Jho Low holds a Malaysian passport as well as a passport for the West Indies island of St Kitts and Nevis, breaching the Federal Constitution which does not recognise dual nationality.

This was revealed in the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) third lawsuit with regard to 1MDB in order to seize another US$540 million in assets associated with what the department described as an “international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund".

This brings the total forfeiture claim made by the DOJ in this case to US$1.7 billion.

The DOJ claimed Low had signed a letter bearing the letterhead of his firm Good Star Ltd to facilitate a fund transfer on March 19, 2010.

The signature was “similar to the one Low used on his Malaysian and St Kitts and Nevis passports”, it said.

St Kitts allows foreigners to obtain citizenship in return for real estate investment of at least US$400,000 or a contribution of at least US$250,000 to the state’s sugar industry diversification fund.

More than US$1b in real estate

According to the third filing made yesterday, the DOJ alleged that Low amassed more than US1 billion in real estate using funds diverted from 1MDB. They include:

• A Time Warner penthouse, New York (US$30.55 million);
• The Oriole Mansion, Beverly Hills (US$390.98 million);
• Greene Condominium unit, New York (US$13.8 million);
• L’Ermitage luxury hotel, Beverly Hills (US$44.8 million);
• Hillcrest Road mansion, Beverly Hills (US$17.5 million);
• Park Laurel condominium, New York (US$23.98 million);
• Qentas Townhouse, Belgavria, London (17 million pounds);
• Stratton penthouse and Stratton flat, London (35 million pounds);
• Stratton offices, London (42 million pounds); and
• Interest in Park Lane Hotel, New York via a partnership (total purchase price US$654 million).

Sold homes to Najib's stepson'

The Qentas Townhouse, Hillcrest Road mansion and Park Laurel condominium are notable because the DOJ found the properties were then sold for a profit to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz.

In 2012, Riza bought the Qentas Townhouse for 6.35 million pounds more than what Low paid two years before.

Similarly for the Park Laurel property, Riza had in 2012 paid Low US$35.5 million, close to 50 percent more than what Low paid in 2010, the DOJ claimed.

The DOJ claimed Low masked where he obtained the money by passing the funds through a complicated web of transactions, sometimes up to several transactions a day for no other discernible reason.

He also represented himself as a "third generation steward" of a large family trust fund.

In more than one instance, the DOJ alleged, he funnelled cash through his father, Larry Low’s bank account to make it appear that the funds came from his family.

The complicated money trail showed in fact, the funds were misappropriated from 1MDB and channelled through bank accounts of firms owned by Low or his associates, it added.

This included through the siphoning of cash via a British Virgin Island entity called Aabar, which bears a similar name with Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC)'s subsidiary but is unrelated to IPIC.

IPIC and 1MDB are in talks over some RM3.5 billion, which 1MDB said it inadvertently transferred to the Aabar in the BVI.

Art for collateral

Sale of prime real estate to Riza was not the only way Low was growing the cash he allegedly siphoned from 1MDB.

The DOJ also filed records of Low using multi-million dollar paintings he purchased at auctions as collateral to obtain a loan.

Email transcripts showed how Low asked around for “relaxed” boutique banks which could extend a loan on the back of the artworks, without asking too many questions.

According to the DOJ, his Cayman Islands firm Triple Eight Ltd obtained a US$107 million loan from Sothesby’s by pledging 17 pieces of art valued up to US$258.3 million.

Sothesby has since sold most of the artwork to recover the amount it loaned to Low, the DOJ said.

The artworks include pieces from Vincent Van Gogh and Monet, as well as several works purchased by the firm of his associate Eric Tan - Tanore - which were “gifted” to Low.

The DOJ said Tanore is the firm which received funds siphoned from 1MDB.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385762#ixzz4k7xo67Vz

DOJ: US$620m returned 'donation' used to buy pink diamond for MO1's wife

Taken from Malaysiakini 16 June 2017

I wonder how any BN supporter can still defend their MO1. GE really can't come soon enough!
I wanted to post this article up for those who do not have access to Mkini.
Please! If you love Malaysia, read this and ask yourself can we allow MO1 to continue to rule Malaysia!

Also do read the other related articles from Malaysiakini here
'Jho Low's award-winning superyacht bought with 1MDB funds'
DOJ: Najib’s stepson bought properties, posters using funds diverted to Aabar BVI  
DOJ: Jho Low spent US$10m on jewellery for Aussie model, mom
Yacht, diamonds and more in DOJ's latest 1MDB filing
'Dual national Low bought over US$1b in properties with 1MDB cash'

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) may have finally shed light on what happened to the US$620 million that “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1) had returned to his "donor".

In a latest civil forfeiture suit filing, the DOJ alleged that at least US$27.3 million was used to buy a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace for “MO1's wife.”

It also indicated that the returned "donation" money was used by Penang born-tycoon Jho Low to purchase a US$750,000 photograph as a gift for actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

MO1 is described by the DOJ as a high- ranking government official.

In response to last year's civil forfeiture suits, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had confirmed that MO1 was Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Najib however has denied allegations of misappropriating public funds for personal gain while Abdul Rahman said the fact Najib was not named in the DOJ filing showed that the prime minister was not a subject of investigation.

In last year's suits, the DOJ claimed that a total of US$731 million of allegedly misappropriated 1MDB funds had entered the personal accounts of MO1.

This included US$681 million transferred in March 2013, which the DOJ documents quoted the Malaysian attorney-general Mohammed Apandi Ali as saying that it was a personal donation from a member of the Saudi royal family.

The DOJ and Apandi both noted that in August 2013, US$620 million of the funds was returned.

However, the DOJ claimed the money had originated from 1MDB, and was transferred to MO1 from, and later returned to, the Singapore bank account of Tanore Corporation.

Singapore court cases on 1MDB established that the account was controlled by Low.

However, what happened to the returned US$620 million had remained a mystery until the allegations listed in the DOJ's 251-page lawsuit yesterday.

On June 2013, two months before the sum was returned, the DOJ said Low had contacted jeweller Lorraine Schwartz, asking urgently for a diamond necklace with a "18 carrot (sic) pink heart diamond".

The next month, Schwartz travelled to Monaco with a 22-carat pink diamond, to meet Low as well as then Aabar chief executive officer Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny aboard a yacht.

Also on board the yacht were the wife of MO1, and her friend - dubbed by the DOJ as "Malaysian Friend".

On the yacht, the group purportedly discussed the design of the necklace which would hold the pink diamond.

According to the DOJ, Schwartz's next encounter with MO1's wife was in New York on Sept 28 to show a layout of the necklace's design.

Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor were in New York at the time for the UN general assembly. Najib addressed the assembly on Sept 28.

The DOJ claimed that the finished necklace was later delivered to "Malaysian Friend" in Hong Kong on March 7, 2014, so that it could be delivered to MO1's wife.

It is not clear if or when MO1's wife personally received the necklace.

The DOJ alleged that payment for the US$27.3 million piece of jewellery had originated from the US$620 million MO1 returned to Tanore in August 2013.

On Sept 9, 2013, US$58.85 million from the Tanore account was channelled to another account - Midhurst Trading Limited - which Singapore courts established was opened by Low under the alias of Eric Tan.

The next day, US$32.76 million was transferred from Midhurst to a DBS Singapore bank account for Blackrock, another account held nominally by Tan.

From there, two wire transfers were made to Schwartz's Bank of America accounts totalling US$27.3 million.

The DOJ noted that Low might have used Tan's email to ensure his name was not associated with the diamond's purchase records.

An email from Tan to Schwartz's assistant, had asked for Low's name not to be stated in further emails "as he is just an introducer and not the buyer."

Besides the US$27.3 million pink diamond necklace, the DOJ also accused Low of purchasing 27 different 18-carat gold necklaces and bracelets for MO1's wife, worth a total of US$1.3 million.

The gold necklaces and bracelets were bought using funds allegedly misappropriated from a Deutsche Bank loan meant for a legitimate subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) - but was diverted to a dubious company mimicking IPIC subsidiaries.

Meanwhile, another purchase allegedly made using the US$620 million MO1 had returned, was a photograph by Diane Arbus titled “Boy with the Toy Hand Grenade".

The U$750,000 photograph was purchased with funds allegedly channelled from the Tanore account, to former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International.

The DOJ claimed that on Aug 30, 2013, three days after the US$620 million, a total of US$334 million was sent from Tanore to two overseas investment firms Enterprise Emerging Market Funds (Enterprise) and Cistenique Investment Fund (Cistenique).

Then between Sept 4 and Sept 6, 2013, a total of US$232.9 million was allegedly wired from Enterprise and Cistenique to SRC International.

The DOJ claimed that US$233.4 million was then wired from SRC International to another investment firm - Pacific Harbor Global Growth Fund.

On Sept 10, the DOJ said US$228.7 million was transferred from Pacific Harbor to a shell company nominally controlled by Tan dubbed Affinity Equity.

Then between Oct 28 and Oct 30, 2013, Affinity Equity transferred US$1 million to another account nominally controlled by Tan dubbed the Platinum Global account.

It was from this account that the US$750,000 for the photograph was paid for on Nov 1, 2013.

The DOJ stated that in March 2014, Low gave the photograph to DiCaprio as a gift.

However, what happened to the rest of the US$620 million that MO1 returned is unclear.

The US$681 milllion MO1 had received has become popularly known in Malaysia as the RM2.6 billion donation.

Najib and his supporters have insisted that it was a donation from a Saudi royalty.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385760#ixzz4k7hlFFPJ