FBI Interrogates Kim Kardashian Regarding Nightlife with 1MDB Fugitive in Las Vegas
The FBI questioned Kim Kardashian in 2019 regarding her nightlife escapades with Jho Low, a multibillionaire turned absconder, according to a summary of the interview obtained by Bloomberg Businessweek. Low, aged 41, stands accused of stealing millions from the Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) government fund and later splurging a significant portion of the ill-gotten gains on financing a celebrity entourage's wild Las Vegas parties.
Low's celebrity connections are gaining attention as prosecutors prepare for the criminal trial of Prakazrel “Pras” Michél, a former member of the popular '90s hip-hop group the Fugees, who is accused of using foreign funds to support Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign and later advocating on Low's behalf with President Obama.
Kardashian reportedly admitted to the FBI that she and Low partied together on six occasions. During their association, she acknowledged receiving $250K as a wedding present for her short-lived 2011 marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries, with the funds used to purchase a new white Ferrari. Additionally, Low apparently gifted Humphries $100K to fund the firework display at their nuptials, an event where Low was present.
Years after their initial meetings, Kardashian declared that Low offered her a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, but her partner Kanye West allegedly demanded a Monet instead. West had apparently made the request to irritate Low because both Kardashian and West found Low to be capricious when doling out gifts, believing that he never intended to deliver the promised artwork.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Kardashian disclosed to the authorities that she first met Low in 2009 when he paid her $50K for a two-hour appearance at a Vegas nightclub on his birthday. Kardashian also admitted to once boarding a Southwest flight from Vegas to LA with a garbage bag containing $250K in cash, winnings from a Baccarat game funded by Low. During a subsequent trip, Low purportedly handed her the remaining $100K in a similar garbage bag.
Venetian Resort
The sections of the FBI report quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek did not specify the nightclubs where Kardashian and Low partied or the casinos where they gambled. However, a Venetian marketing executive testified before a federal jury in New York last year that Low wagered a total of $87M at the Venetian's baccarat tables.
Low allegedly frequenting the Venetian and its sister resort Palazzo isn't new information, as he has been reported by the Wall Street Journal as a regular visitor of Palazzo’s $25K-per-night Chairman Suites and a frequent spender "tens of millions" at the Tao nightclub at the Venetian and at Lavo at the Palazzo. Tao was where Kardashian was frequently hired to celebrate her own birthday bashes in the 2010s for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If any of the gifts or cash Kardashian received from Low can be linked to the money he allegedly stole, Kardashian could be asked to return the items to the Department of Justice, as per reports. Low's former girlfriend, Miranda Kerr, was compelled to return $8 million in diamond jewelry that Low had given her in 2014.
Leonardo DiCaprio, another renowned celebrity friend of Low's, was also interviewed by investigators. Low is said to have invested $100M into DiCaprio's Oscar-nominated “Wolf of Wall Street,” and he pledged $6M and a Basquiat (perhaps the same one Kanye declined) to a charity that DiCaprio oversees.
Malaysian Prime Minister in Prison
The 1MDB fund was launched in 2009 with then prime-minister Najib Razak as its leader. In 2015, Razak was accused of transferring $700M into his personal bank account. In 2018, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption.
Though Low held no formal position with the 1MDB fund, the US government claims he orchestrated “perhaps the largest heist in history.”
Low is rumored to be hiding out in China.
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