An Australian lingerie model and erstwhile girlfriend of Jho Low has returned more than $8 million in diamond jewelry to U.S. officials investigating corruption at 1MDB scandal.
finews.asia reported last week that the man U.S. investigators allege orchestrated the pilfering of billions from Malaysian state fund 1MDB, Jho Low, had showered several women with millions worth of diamond jewelry.
Low is accused of using stolen money when he contacted New York society jeweler Lorraine Schwartz with a $1 million to $2 million budget and directive that «size matters» on a Valentine's Day gift for his then-girlfriend, former Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr.
Kerr ended up with jewels including an 11.72 carat heart-shaped diamond pendant worth $1.29 million as well as an 8.88-carat diamond pendant worth $3.8 million baubles which U.S. investigators allege were paid for with 1MDB money.
Kerr Buckles
Kerr has returned $8.1 million worth of jewelry that Low bought for her, her spokesman told «The Wall Street Journal».
Recently married to Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, Kerr presumably wants to put the whole affair behind her: she handed over Low's gifts from her safe deposit box in Los Angeles to government agents on Friday, the newspaper reported.
«Ms. Kerr will continue to assist with the inquiry in any way she can,» her spokesman said. She is not targeted as a suspect in the 1MDB inquiry.
First Lady's Jewels
Kerr's move puts heat on another woman who is alleged to have received even more costly jewels from Low: Malaysian first lady Rosmah Mansor. Mansor reportedly received a $27.3 million 22-carat pink diamond necklace designed by New York jeweller Lorraine Schwartz in 2014 plus another $1.3 million in luxury jewels.
The model is the second A-lister to back down as the vastness of alleged corruption at 1MDB emerges: Leonardo DiCaprio returned an Oscar won by Marlon Brando in 1954 for «On the Waterfront», as well as several pieces or artwork and collectible memorabilia, to U.S. justice officials.
DiCaprio had received the Oscar as a gift for wrapping up «The Wolf of Wall Street» from the film's production firm, Red Granite. That firm was co-founded by Riza Aziz, the son of first lady Mansor and stepson of Malaysian leader Najib Razak.
Julius Baer Link
The Hollywood actor has another awkward connection to Swiss banking: his foundation, which received the gifts, is linked with Julius Baer. The Zurich-based private bank has no other known involvement in the 1MDB scandal.
For all the ructions that 1MDB has caused in Hollywood and elsewhere, scrutiny at home in Malaysia is almost non-existent: Najib is widely viewed as having successfully stifled any probes into the fund's disappearing billions.
The diamonds aren't the priciest assets that U.S. investigators are attempting to seize: Low allegedly fronted purchases of luxury real estate, a private jet and a $250 million luxury yacht that is believed to be his current hideout.
Baby-Faced Orchestrator?
Low, a baby-faced Malaysian from a wealthy family, hasn't been charged with a crime and is fighting the asset grab in U.S. court, after successfully booting Zurich-based Rothschild as a trustee.
The scandal has left a path of destruction in Singapore, where two banks were wiped out and several bankers jailed, as well as in Zurich, where bankers were found to have been willing helpers. finews.asia exclusively reported that the first Swiss banker to be jailed over 1MDB, Jens Sturzenegger, recently returned to Switzerland.
The financier Low is alleged to have gotten Swiss banks to do his bidding in part by invoking his culture in the complex web of money transfers, including to his father and back again.
