This Financier Stole $1.42 Billion and Blew $1.75 Million in 90 Minutes in Vegas

Did he really think he could get away with it? Chinese-Malaysian fugitive financier Jho Low had so much money to burn, he left staff at The Venetian casino in Las Vegas agape at his sky-high wagers and outlandish requests, based on testimony heard at a New York court this week. 

The high-rolling Low lost $1.75 million in a single 90-minute turn at baccarat, Bloomberg said The Venetian executive Kirk Godby told the court at the 1MDB trial of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker, on Thursday.

Low, said to be the mastermind behind the pilfering of Malaysia’s state 1MDB public investment fund, gambled nearly $87 million at The Venetian and lost around $26 million of that, Godby told the court, adding he had been a “premium” guest at the hotel. 

“He was extremely extravagant,” Godby said. “He had requests that were parallel to none. He made requests like he wanted disco balls, dance floors and DJs.”

However extravagant this sum was, it represents just a small fraction of the $1.42 billion that an FBI agent also testified this week at Ng’s trial that Low had stolen from the fund. Both revelations provide yet more pieces of the elaborate puzzle of what a U.S. attorney general once called “the largest kleptocracy case in the world.”

Labeled “the Asian Great Gatsby”, currently an international fugitive believed to be hiding out in China, the 40-year-old Low was known for throwing lavish parties with the stolen funds. According to court testimonies last month, he paid celebrities to attend them, including Megan Fox, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and Leonardo DiCaprio—who starred in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, which Low helped bankroll with 1MDB funds. 

Model Emily Ratajkowski has previously claimed Low paid her $25,000 to attend the Super Bowl with him, while Miranda Kerr has had to hand over to authorities some $8 million in jewelry Low had gifted her. Low also allegedly used 1MDB funds to buy luxurious properties in Beverly Hills, New York and London.

Banker Ng stands accused of conspiring with his former Goldman Sachs boss Timothy Leissner and Low to divert billions of dollars from three 1MDB bond deals guaranteed by Goldman. Leissner, former Goldman Southeast Asia chief, has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and has turned witness in the case. He testified that he and Ng bribed officials to grease the transactions, and that he knew Low was involved in them.

In a court hearing on Monday, FBI agent Eric Van Dorn testified that Ng received $35 million from the scheme, while Leissner got $73 million, Bloomberg reported. Low stole $1.42 billion from the three bond transactions Goldman underwrote for 1MDB, Van Dorn said.

Established in 2009 a few months into then-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s term, 1MDB was supposed to attract foreign investment into Malaysia. Investigations in 12 countries have since revealed how its funds were embezzled by officials and their associates, given away in part by their suddenly lavish lifestyles.

At least $4.5 billion has been embezzled from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said based on civil forfeiture claims it received from 2009 to 2015, when fund managers began missing payments to banks and bondholders.

The scandal cost Najib the premiership in 2018, and he was convicted of money laundering, abuse of power, and criminal breach of trust in July 2020. An appellate court affirmed the verdict in December, and Najib remains out on bail as he appeals his case at Malaysia’s high court. His conviction carries 12 years’ imprisonment and a $50 million fine.

At Ng’s New York trial, Van Dorn said Razak received $756 million from the $6.5 billion raised in the Goldman bond deals, while his stepson Riza Aziz got $238 million.

Low had helped Najib set up 1MDB, and U.S. prosecutors believe he led the creation of shell companies through which the state-owned funds were diverted to individual pockets. Low has since been charged with money laundering and other crimes in Malaysia and the U.S.

Last August, the U.S. DOJ said it had restored an additional $452 million in misappropriated funds to Malaysia, bringing the total repatriated to $1.2 billion. Goldman agreed to pay a $2.9 billion fine in 2020 for its role in the scandal. 

Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance said 1MDB remains $7.6 billion in debt as of June last year.

Follow JC Gotinga on Twitter.