One of the central figures in the billion-dollar 1MDB scandal has won a key court battle to dispose of a prominent Swiss bank. The mysterious financier wants to fight a U.S. asset grab of high-end real estate and other luxury purchases.
Jho Low has been AWOL for months, but his name surfaced this week in a New Zealand courtroom. Low and his family have been seeking to block assets from being seized by U.S. officials, who allege that they were bought with money pilfered from 1MDB.
The assets reportedly include The Viceroy L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverley Hills, CA, a Los Angeles mansion, a Bombardier private jet, a penthouse in the Time Warner Building in New York, and a condo in Manhattan.
Now, Low and his family have been granted the right to challenge U.S. authorities on the asset grab: An Auckland court transferred control of New Zealand trusts holding $363 million in assets from Swiss bank Rothschild to FFP, a Cayman Islands-based firm which provides independent directors and advice to offshore companies, the «New Zealand Herald» reported.
Pliant Swiss Bank
It is expected that Low will be able to more resist the U.S. grab through the Caymans entity acting as trustee rather than Rothschild. The presiding judge, Justice Kit Toogood, emphasized that the ruling doesn't address allegations surrounding 1MDB.
«The central issue here is whether or not the beneficiaries are entitled to seek replacement of trustees,» he said. Rothschild, which had been pliant versus the U.S.'s asset grab, did not comment on the ruling. FFP couldn't immediately be reached.
According to the Low's court submissions, Rothschild had voiced concern about being vulnerable to anti-money laundering laws if they opposed the seizure action or agreed to being replaced – which the court has now forced them to do.
Rothschild Fearful
Rothschild was booted as a trustee of all of Low Family entities, including trusts reported to own property in Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.K.
The ruling is noteworthy because it is the first sign of Low's defense of himself. Before the U.S. has revealed the extent of its investigation, Low had defended himself in publications such as «Euromoney» two years ago, but he has not been heard from or spotted in recent months besides unconfirmed reports that a luxury yacht linked to him was spotted entering Hong Kong waters.
He is one of the most elusive figures in the 1MDB scandal, along with former Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth head Khadem al-Qubaisi, who is reportedly in jail in the emirate.
A court in the Caymans granted a similar request, removing trustees who owned part of New York's Park Lane Hotel and EMI Music's back catalogue worth some $400 million.
