According to published reports today, the Justice Department from the U.S. Government is inching towards the end of its process to recover the $3.5 billion in funds stolen from a Malaysian government fund known as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Participants in said crime took the proceeds to buy real estate, private jets, art as well as invest in the Leonardo DiCaprio hit movie ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.” Paintings by Monet and Van Gogh are part of the recovery effort along with real estate in Los Angeles and New York City. One of the NYC condos was originally identified in the past being bought by Neil Moffitt as a straw-man purchaser on behalf of a participant of the theft. The California property is are as a single-family home in the famed Bird Streets in Los Angeles. The NYC condo was said to have been bought for $50.9 million in cash by Moffitt. Subsequent reports indicated that Moffitt may have managed the property for the true buyer, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. al-Qubaisi, who’s company Tasameem Real Estate LLC purchased Hakkasan in 2008. It does appear that there is a clear connection between the parties, regardless of the exact buyer. It is unknown if the DOJ’s investigation and course of action will include Hakkasan as part of the attempt to reclaim the stolen monies.
U.S. Government working to reclaim real estate handled by former Hakkasan head
