1MDB Suit: Jho Low Transferred RM10.5 Million To Kim Kardashian And Pharrell Williams
Financial fraud investigator Richard Templeman said the purpose of the transactions is "currently unknown".
Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho had allegedly transferred RM10.5 million to Hollywood celebrities Pharrell Williams and Kim Kardashian in 2011, the Kuala Lumpur High Court was told yesterday, 9 September
Financial fraud investigator Richard Templeman from the UK revealed this during a Zoom hearing in the USD6.59 billion (RM28 billion) lawsuit filed by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) against its former top brass, Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
According to the New Straits Times, Templeman testified that by 25 October 2011, Low, also known as Jho Low, had misappropriated USD1.03 billion (RM4.4 billion) from 1MDB to his shell company, Good Star Ltd.
Of this colossal amount, Templeman claimed that USD2,025,000 (RM8.8 million) was transferred from Good Star into a bank account named Talamasca Inc.
"I note that publicly available information links Talamasca Inc with musician Pharrell Williams. I have no further information regarding this transfer of funds," Bernama quoted him as saying.
Pharrell Williams and Kim Kardashian posing for a photo at a fashion event last year.
Image via Acielle/Styledumonde via Vogue
Templeman added that USD306,000 (RM1.3 million) was transferred to reality TV star Kim Kardashian and another USD100,000 (RM430,000) to her then-husband Kris Humphries
"Further sums were also paid from the Good Star account into several entities, including USD1 million (RM4.3 million) into Chelsea Hospital Partners LLC, USD124,313 (RM541,000) into Greenberg Traurig International, and USD285,000 (RM1.2 million) into Blackhawk Partners Inc.
"However, the purpose [of these transactions] is currently unknown," he said.
The 1MDB suit was filed in May 2021 by the sovereign wealth fund itself against its former director and president, Mohd Irwan and Arul Kanda.
It alleged that the defendants had committed a breach of trust and conspiracy that resulted in USD1.83 billion in losses related to the company's investment in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd, reported the New Straits Times.
The case is separate from another 1MDB trial involving Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who faces charges for allegedly receiving RM2.27 billion in gratification. Najib is charged with four counts of power abuse and 21 counts of money laundering in that trial.
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