Seized Basquiat and Picasso pieces, implicated in the 1MDB scandal, fetch $36 million at US Marshals' auction.
In a historic event, a collection of artworks linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal were auctioned off by the US Marshals Service, fetching a total of $36 million. The artworks, which once belonged to individuals implicated in the 1MDB scandal, included pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Diane Arbus, and Pablo Picasso.
At the heart of the 1MDB scandal is Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian fugitive financier, who is considered the main culprit behind the multibillion-dollar financial fraud. Low allegedly acquired four valuable artworks using misappropriated 1MDB funds, which were later sold at auction.
Among the recovered artworks was Jean Michel Basquiat's Red Man One (1982), which fetched $22,002,790.00. Basquiat's Self Portrait (1982) was another highlight, selling for $8,332,500. Pablo Picasso's Tête de taureau et broc (1939) was another significant piece, selling for $5,007,502. Diane Arbus's Child with a Toy Hand Grenade sold for $500,150.
The online auction opened on July 16 and closed on September 4. The starting bid for Basquiat's Self Portrait and Tête de taureau et broc was $850,000 each. The starting bid for Arbus's Child with a Toy Hand Grenade was $4,400, while the gelatin silver print was purchased from the art and movie memorabilia company Cinema Archives for $750,000.
Interestingly, Tête de taureau et broc was gifted to Leonardo DiCaprio with a handwritten note saying "Happy belated Birthday! This gift is for you." and signed "TKL," Low's initials. DiCaprio surrendered the artworks to the US government in 2017.
The 1MDB scandal involves the embezzlement of the eponymous Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, with an estimated $4.5 billion diverted between 2009 and 2014. The U.S. Department of Justice dubbed this case as the "largest kleptocracy case to date."
The artworks were surrendered to the US Department of Justice in connection with the 1MDB scandal. It is believed that Low bought the works between 2012 and 2014 and later gave them to DiCaprio. McFarland, who co-founded Red Granite Pictures with Riza Shahriz Bin Abdul Aziz, the stepson of Razak, used embezzled funds from 1MBD to produce the movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
In a separate transaction, auction house Gaston and Sheehan, based in Pflugerville, Texas, was contracted by the US government to conduct the sale of two other artworks linked to the 1MDB scandal: a rare Metropolis 1927 film poster and the Andy Warhol painting Round Jackie (1964). The Warhol sold for $1.04 million.
This auction marks a significant step in the recovery and return of stolen assets linked to the 1MDB scandal, providing a glimmer of hope for transparency and accountability in the art world and beyond.
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