US seizes luxury apartment bought with 1MDB funds for Jho Low’s aide

KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): US authorities have secured a court order to seize a luxury apartment in New York that was bought using funds allegedly misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Along with the rental income forfeited, the court order brings to a close a civil forfeiture case that sought to recover more than US$6 million in assets linked to 1MDB filed at the US District Court for the Central District of California, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

The funds were used to purchase a luxury condominium unit in New York City for the benefit of Catherine Tan May Ling, a personal assistant for Low Taek Jho (pictured), the Justice Department said.

Tan's whereabouts remain unknown. Low, also known as Jho Low, is still on the run from both US and Malaysian authorities for masterminding one of the largest frauds in history. High-level officials and their associates, including Jho Low, have siphoned billions of dollars through a scheme of international money laundering.

The latest civil forfeiture case is prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, with support including from the US Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Justice Department also credited authorities in Malaysia, the UK, British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Indonesia, Latvia, and France for their “significance assistance” in the case.

Instead of helping to develop Malaysia’s economy, funds raised and held by 1MDB created by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were used to purchase extravagant items including luxury homes in the US and the UK; a 300-foot superyacht; and fine art by Monet and Van Gogh.

Najib himself has since been found guilty in a case involving 1MDB’s former subsidiary, and was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million. He has been granted a partial pardon, which reduces his prison term to six years and fine to RM50 million.

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