Four high-profile artworks linked to the 1MDB scandal, which were seized and surrendered to the US Department of Justice, are now being auctioned online by the US Marshals Service.
According to New York-based art magazine ARTnews on Tuesday, the works up for auction are Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Self Portrait” (1982) and “Red Man One” (1982), Pablo Picasso’s “Tête de taureau et broc” (1939), and Diane Arbus’s “Child with a Toy Hand Grenade” (1962).
The four pieces are being sold through Gaston and Sheehan, an auction house based in Pflugerville, Texas.
The digital auction commenced on July 16 and will conclude on Sept 4, with buyers exempt from paying any premiums.
“Self Portrait” was surrendered to the US by Red Granite Pictures co-founder Christopher Joey McFarland, a partner of Riza Aziz, the stepson of incarcerated former prime minister Najib Razak.
Red Granite Pictures allegedly used embezzled 1MDB funds to produce the 2013 movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
The other three artworks were acquired by fugitive financier Low Tae Jho, or Jho Low, between 2012 and 2014 and gifted to actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in and co-produced the film.
Site checks by FMT showed that “Red Man One” opened at just US$2.975 million, “Self Portrait” and the Picasso piece started at US$850,000, and Arbus’s print began at US$4,400.
Low remains wanted by authorities in several countries. US prosecutors allege that he and other high-ranking officials embezzled over US$4.5 billion (RM19.17 billion) from Malaysia’s state investment fund between 2009 and 2015 through money laundering and fraud.
