PETALING JAYA • A Los Angeles property reportedly owned by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, has been sold for US$18.5 million (S$26.8 million), US media reports say.
According to Variety and the Los Angeles Times, Low had bought the Sunset Strip property for US$39 million in November 2012.
"For many years, that transaction held the record for the priciest Hollywood Hills home sale ever - until it was finally eclipsed earlier this year," Variety said.
The property, according to the report, was originally built in the 1980s by actor Ricardo Montalban.
After his death in 2009, it was then sold to Irish investor Paddy McKillen and developer Nile Niami.
"The fortress-like compound, which has jetliner views of the entire Los Angeles skyline, was subsequently sold to Low in an off-market deal.
"For unknown reasons, Low proceeded to tear the entire property up - the landscaping and interiors have all been gutted and ripped out, and the house has been vacant for at least the last three years.
"The gallery photos here (in Variety) show the house as it appeared in 2012.
"Today, the property is little more than a trashed shell of that estate, and will undoubtedly require millions of dollars in restoration funds to bring back to liveable condition," Variety said.
Gallery photos by the Los Angeles Times of the 13,000 sq ft mansion showed that it had a modern contemporary style with huge windows overlooking Los Angeles' skyline.
The mansion also comes with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
The property was one of the assets seized by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to recoup almost US$1 billion allegedly looted from Malaysia's 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.
The money from 1MDB, according to the DOJ, was used to pay for, among others, a private jet, a superyacht, mansions, diamonds and even Hollywood movie productions.
Low, whose whereabouts are unknown but who is widely believed to be in China, has denied any involvement in the 1MDB scandal.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
