U.S. prosecutors are settling with the alleged mastermind of 1MDB, Jho Low. He still faces money-laundering and corruption charges in a separate case.

The U.S. Justice Department is settling a corruption investigation into Jho Low, whom it alleges is a key figure in the $4.5 billion Malaysian graft scheme surrounding 1MDB, it said in a statement. Low will forfeit $700 million in assets in the U.S., Britain, and Switzerland as part of the deal.

1MDB toppled Malaysian leader Najib Razak in 2017 and led to a global hunt for the assets ferreted away including fine art, luxury hotels such New York's Park Lane, hundreds of pricey Birkin handbags, and a Hollywood blockbuster. On the way, Swiss banks as well as private bankers and U.S. powerhouse Goldman Sachs have been snagged in the investigation.

Still on the Lam

Currently a fugitive whose whereabouts are the subject of fevered speculation in southeast Asia, Low will be able to pay some of his (considerable) legal bills as part of the deal: the U.S. will release $15 million in money that is currently frozen. A native of Penang, Malaysia, he adopted a high-flying lifestyle replete with a supermodel girlfriend, Miranda Kerr, and Leonardo DiCaprio as a buddy.

Low used Malaysian money «to engage in extravagant spending sprees, acquiring one-of-kind artwork and luxury real estate, gambling freely at casinos, and propping up his lavish lifestyle,» Brian Benczkowski, assistant prosecutor in the Department of Justice's criminal arm, said in a statement. Low welcomed the settlement, which he noted doesn't translate to an admission he is guilty of wrong-doing.

Yachtless, Jetless

The baby-faced erstwhile billionaire, who lost his luxury yacht as well as private jet, still faces separate money laundering and corruption charges linked to 1MDB. Prosecutors charge him with bribing Malaysian and United Arab Emirate officials to cover up the graft. 

The probe also hit Goldman Sachs, which reaped $600 million for its role in raising $6.5 billion for 1MDB in 2012 and 2013. Malaysia is seeking to get as $7.5 billion in reparations from the Wall Street giant. Ten months ago, Goldman's former top man in southeast Asia, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty to U.S. charges of money laundering and corruption.

Malaysia's representatives have discussed figures ranging from $2 billion to $3 billion in their settlement talks with Goldman Sachs, «Bloomberg» reported, less than half the $7.5 billion amount originally indicated by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in an interview on «reparation payments».