The US government is in contract to sell a Soho property once owned by Malaysian fugitive Jho Low, the Wharton-educated ex-“party boy” at the heart of a $4.5 billion international money laundering and bribery scandal.
The loft, at 102 Prince St., was first put on the market by the feds last July for $9.9 million. Its last asking price before it went into contract was $8.5 million — down from its original $9.9 million asking price last July. The deal was first reported in Monday’s Olshan Report. The 1990 film “Ghost,” starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, was filmed in the classic, cast-iron building.
The two-bedroom, 3½-bathroom apartment is 4,000 square feet — and comes with quite the history. In March 2013, the owner before Low bought it for $8.9 million. The following year, Low snatched it up for $13.8 million — an unheard of $4.9 million flip. It remains the highest-priced sale for a non-penthouse in a non-doorman Soho building. And the apartment doesn’t even include a washer/dryer.
The US government seized hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of assets in the Jho Low scandal — including art gifted to Leonardo DiCaprio and diamonds gifted to model Miranda Kerr. The stolen money came from a Malaysian wealth fund known as 1MDB. Recently, the US government returned $300 million from assets it had seized and sold back to the Malaysian government.
“The recent repatriation of funds reflects the United States’ continuing commitment to the Malaysian people to hunt down, seize, forfeit and return assets that were acquired with misappropriated 1MDB funds to its rightful place. In cooperation with the Malaysian government, the United States continues its efforts to recover funds misappropriated from 1MDB, demonstrating our commitment to good governance, transparency, and the fight against corruption,” a US Department of Justice spokesman told Gimme Shelter on Monday, in a statement.
Before it was seized, Low had turned his Prince Street condo into a party palace. Guests included swimsuit model Kate Upton, sources told Gimme Shelter at the time.
In the same building, art collector, philanthropist and retired fund manager Henry Buhl still has his 7,000-square-foot residence on the market for $19 million. His art, which includes works by Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin and Fernando Botero and is featured in the listing photos, is not included in the sale.