1MDB scandal: Jho Low sells luxury lingerie firm’s office space in London amid US legal fight

The office, bought for 42 million pounds (US$54 million) in 2014, is to be sold as part of forfeiture lawsuits brought by federal prosecutors in the US

Low is the alleged ringleader of a multibillion-dollar theft from 1MDB, created in 2009 as a Malaysian government-owned development company

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Protesters in Kuala Lumpur hold portraits of Jho Low illustrated as a pirate in this 2018 file photo. Photo: AP

Published: 9:49am, 24 Oct 2019Updated: 5:47pm, 17 Dec 2019

The London office used by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho – commonly known as Jho Low – for his luxury lingerie company will be sold while he continues to fight US claims that the property is one of many acquired with money stolen from the 1MDB investment fund.

The office, bought for 42 million pounds (US$54 million) in 2014, as well as a nearby penthouse and apartment Low acquired in 2010 on Stratton Street in the upscale Mayfair neighbourhood, are to be sold as part of forfeiture lawsuits federal prosecutors in Los Angeles brought against the properties in 2017. According to court filings seen on Wednesday, the proceeds of the sale are to replace the real-estate assets as the litigation continues.

Low, commonly known as Jho Low, is the alleged ringleader of a multibillion-dollar theft from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which was created in 2009 as a government-owned development company. The United States has brought 30 forfeiture lawsuits seeking real estate, investments, art and jewellery valued at US$1.7 billion that Low and his accomplices bought.

The Stratton Street office was used by Myla, a lingerie company that Low allegedly also acquired with diverted 1MDB funds. In a 2014 email Low sent from his Myla account, he introduced a Red Granite Pictures representative to Myla executives to follow up on “any opportunities for Myla in the movie space”.

Red Granite is the movie production company co-founded by Riza Aziz, a stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The company last year agreed to pay US$60 million to settle claims that it financed Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street and other pictures with stolen 1MDB money.