Jho Low's financial empire appears to be crumbling: the Malaysian financier's prize U.S. luxury asset is under threat as the 1MDB scandal widens.
Baby-faced Jho Low has been AWOL ever since the billion-dollar graft scandal surrounding Malaysian state fund 1MDB surfaced into the public domain.
His whereabouts and movements are unknown – though much speculated over . His stable of luxury holdings, including a private jet and pricey real estate, is subject to an asset grab by U.S. authorities.
The latest threat against Low's allegedly ill-gotten fortune is over a 46-story New York luxury hotel overlooking Central Park. Low bought the hotel along other investors four years ago for $654 million, «The Wall Street Journal» reported (behind paywall).
Helmsley's Hotel
The property – the Park Lane Hotel – isn't just any asset: it is the largest of an assortment holdings that U.S. prosecutors are seeking to repossess from Low, and was bought from the late Leona Helmsley's estate in 2013.
Low's co-investors in the hotel have asked a court to boot the financier from the Park Lane group, according to court filings. The Malaysian financier hasn't been publicly spotted in nearly two years, but is fighting with his family shield assets such as the Park Lane.
While Low's whereabouts are unknown, the crackdown on banks he dealt with to allegedly pilfer Malaysian state money for personal use will inevitably have made it difficult for him to draw down cash.
