Cheap sale: Jho Low's luxury apartment in New York sold at 45% loss

PETALING JAYA: The US government has sold a luxury condo that once belonged to Malaysian fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (pic), also known as Jho Low, at a 45% discount, a New York real estate news website has reported.

The Real Deal said that the two-bedroom, second-floor unit at 102 Prince Street – also known as 118 Greene Street – was sold to an anonymous Limited Liability Company (LLC) for US$7.6mil (RM33.1mil), compared to the US$13.8mil (RM60.15mil) that Jho Low paid for it in 2014.

It was one of several luxury properties that he had purchased in New York and California that became the subject of forfeiture lawsuits mounted by the US government, which accused him of buying them using money stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The website reported that the unit sold for US$2.7mil (RM11.8mil) in 2003, before trading at US$8.9mil (RM38.8) in 2012.

It also reported that in recent months, the Covid-19 pandemic had added further pressure to the sales market.

In November, US authorities struck a deal with Low to recoup US$1bil (RM4.11bil) in funds allegedly looted from 1MDB, which included a private jet, high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London, and other assets.

The deal does not include an admission of guilt or wrongdoing and is not tied to the criminal action against Low.