Kim Kardashian has been grilled by the FBI over billionaire 1MDB fugitive Jho Low – who she admitted to partying with in Las Vegas before he gifted her $250,000 and gave her the cash for a new white Ferrari as a wedding present.
In an interview from February 2019, Kim disclosed that she first met Low in 2009 when he paid her $50,000 to appear at a Vegas nightclub for two hours on his birthday – kickstarting a peculiar relationship with the now disgraced billionaire.
Jho Low, 41, is a Malaysian businessman turned fugitive who allegedly embezzled billions from the Malaysian state-run economic development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhard, known as 1MDB.
He used his immense wealth to accumulate a celebrity entourage – which briefly included Kim Kardashian in the early 2010s. The businesswoman has recalled how she was once handed $250,000 in hundred dollar bills in a trash bag after playing card games with Low.
Kim Kardashian has been grilled by the FBI over billionaire 1MDB fugitive Jho Low – who she partied with a handful of times and took gifts and favors from in the early 2010s. She is pictured at a party in Las Vegas in December 30, 2009
Jho Low, 41, is a Malaysian businessman turned fugitive who allegedly embezzled billions from the Malaysian state run economic development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhard, known as 1MDB. He gifted Kim $350,000 in gambling winnings, as well as $305,000 for her wedding to Kris Humphries
Kim, pictured in September 2010, met Low a handful of times in her party era, and would keep in touch with the billionaire via Blackberry Messenger
Kim said that she only met Low a total of six times, two of which were while they were gambling – but he also attended her wedding to Kris Humphries and showered her with cash and gifts as they communicated on Blackberry Messenger.
They first began messaging after her initial club appearance, when she recalls only introducing herself to him and shaking his hand. Low then texted her, and they went to dinner and a club in Las Vegas, with an entourage of around 12 people.
The group gambled and played baccarat in a private room – and when Kim wanted to leave at 5am, she was told to drink some coffee and hang around for longer, because Low was known for gifting people cash.
At the end of the night, she went to give the chips back to Low as it was his buy-in, but he told her to keep them. When Kim cashed out, she learned she had $350,000 in chips.
She told the FBI that she was given $250,000 of the winnings ‘a trash bag full of one hundred dollar bills.’
Kardashian then took her cash trash bag in her carry-on and boarded a Southwest Airlines flight back to Los Angeles. She collected the other $100,000, again a trash bag full of cash, during a later trip to party with Low.
According to the FBI report, published first by Bloomberg, Kim ‘always found Low’s source of wealth to be the biggest mystery about him.’
By 2010, Kim and Low seemed to communicate on a semi-frequent basis – and Kim even invited Low to her 2011 wedding in Santa Barbara to Kris Humphries (pictured). The marriage between the socialite and NBA infamously only lasted 72 days
In July 2012, Low requested Kanye West perform on a yacht in Italy – to which he said yes. Low paid $1.25million for his performance, and dished out $250,000 to Kim for appearing. They are pictured together in June 2012
When Kim was partying in Miami in October 2012 for her birthday (pictured) Low told her that he was grateful that ‘she was nice to him and never asked him for anything.’ It was in this exchange on Blackberry Messenger that he told her he’d sent a diamond necklace for her. But she never received it
He promised to shower Kim with diamond necklaces and expensive paintings during their bizarre friendship – but some of the promised gifts did not come to fruition.
By 2010, the pair seemed to communicate on a semi-frequent basis – and Kim even invited Low to her 2011 wedding in Santa Barbara to Kris Humphries. The marriage between the socialite and NBA star infamously only lasted 72 days.
Low requested his own table at her wedding, for himself, his friends, and their dates.
And he forked out $305,000 to Kim as a wedding gift, while also contributing $100,000 for their spectacular fireworks at the wedding.
Low then gave $100,000 to Humphries as a separate gift, and offered to pay for Kim to arrive to the nuptials in a horse-drawn carriage. Kim declined.
Instead, Kim used the $305,000 gift to buy herself a new white Ferrari.
She later sold it in 2012, and used the $240,000 to buy a Lamborghini, which was put in Kanye West’s name – who was her then boyfriend.
In July 2012, Low requested Kanye West perform on a yacht in Italy – to which he said yes. Low paid $1.25million for his performance, and dished out $250,000 to Kim for appearing.
Kim Kardashian pictured getting into her white Ferrari in 2012. She used the cash that Low gifted her at her wedding to buy the flashy sportscar
Kim is pictured in September 2009 in New York City
Kim is pictured with her then boyfriend Kris Humphries in February 2011 in Los Angeles
Kim and Kanye, pictured September 2014. It was around this time Low offered Kim a Basquiat painting
When Kim was partying in Miami in October 2012 for her birthday, Low told her he was grateful ‘she was nice to him and never asked him for anything.’
It was in this exchange on Blackberry Messenger that he told her he’d sent a diamond necklace for her. But she never received it.
According to the FBI, Low then bought the sunglasses company Linda Farrow and told Kim that he would send some of Linda Farrow sunglasses.
She then asked if he wanted to invest in her new beauty company – but it was around this time she that they stopped talking.
Years later in May 2014, Low offered to give Kim a painting by Basquiat – the American neo-expressionist artist.
Her then husband Kanye West instead told Kim to ask for a Monet, because according to the document, they wanted ‘to mess with Low because both Kardashian and West found Low to be very fickle when giving gifts and never expected to actually receive a painting.’
Kim Kardashian’s spokesperson has been contacted for comment.
In her interview with the FBI, Kim Kardashian revealed how Low gifted her thousands after a night of partying and gambling in Las Vegas in the early 2010s
Who is Jho Low?
Jho Low is a Malaysian businessman who is now a fugitive after fleeing the US.
The 41-year-old is facing charges for money laundering – as well as a plethora of other offences.
He is linked to the 1MDB fund – which was rocked in an embezzlement scandal.
But before he became a fugitive, he lived a glamorous lifestyle rubbing shoulders with some of Hollywood’s elite.
Low studied at Wharton – University of Pennsylvania’s famed business school. For his 20th birthday, he rented out a club for $40,000 in Philadelphia to party with his friends.
According to prosecutors, after college he became a mastermind in offshore financing – would get Malaysian banks to lend him billions of dollars and learned how to set up shell companies.
He was friends with the Malaysian prime minister – and helped him fund his government by setting up a state-owned sovereign wealth fund – which was named 1MDB.
1MDB stands for 1Malaysia Development Bhd, and was created to promote development in the country.
He would siphon hundreds of millions of dollars to himself and started partying with the elite and famous – including Leo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton.
Low owned luxury real estate in New York, Los Angeles, and London – as well as millions in art and private planes.
But the penny dropped in 2014. The Malaysian prime minister realized what he’d been doing and in 2016 a US attorney sought to recover $1billion in assets from Low.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, most of 1MDB’s money raised was embezzled and diverted to shell companies and offshore bank accounts linked to Low.
Goldman Sachs, which was also involved in the scandal, entered its first-ever guilty plea and agreed to pay $5 billion and a $2.9 billion fine in the U.S.
Low denies any wrongdoing. Prosecutors are still trying to find him.
Low surrounded himself with the rich and famous, including actor Leo DiCaprio
Src: dailymail.co.uk
