DiCaprio Returns Basquiat & Picasso Gifts from Jho Low as US Seeks 1MDB Assets

Actor Leo DiCaprio is disgorging a Picasso and a Basquiat he received as a gift from Jho Low due to the civil actions surrounding the Malaysian 1MDB development bank scandal. DiCaprio is accused of no wrong-doing and Low has not been charged but the US Government is targeting any assets that might have been purchased with illegally diverted funds from 1MDB.

This is how the New York Times reports the news of the US Government’s complaint:

The complaint claims that Mr. DiCaprio received expensive artwork from Mr. Low and his associates, including a $9.2 million collage by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a $3.2 million painting by Pablo Picasso.

A spokesman for Mr. DiCaprio said in a statement that the actor received the gifts to benefit his environmental foundation and that he had initiated their return before the complaint was filed.

Source: U.S. Moves to Seize Diamonds, a Picasso and Hollywood Films in Malaysian Case – The New York Times