FBI documents reveal Kim Kardashian gambled with Jho Low, received money for Ferrari as wedding gift
KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Newly disclosed documents have reportedly revealed that American celebrities Kim Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio were questioned by US authorities in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
According to a Bloomberg report, in February 2019, Kardashian told US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that she had met and dealt with Low Taek Jho — better known as Jho Low — on several occasions including for two nights of gambling.
Kardashian said that, on one of the nights in Las Vegas, she had won US$350,000 (RM1.6 million) by betting with Low’s money in a game of baccarat — where Wolf of Wall Street co-producers Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz and Joey McFarland were also allegedly present.
Kardashian said she was advised by her security guard to give her winnings — which were still in the form of gambling chips — to Low as she had not won with her own money.
“When Kardashian attempted to give the chips back, Low told Kardashian that the chips were hers to keep,” read an FBI summary report of its interview with Kardashian as reported by Bloomberg.
She also said that Low was invited to her wedding with Krish Humphries in 2011, and when Low offered her a horse carriage as a gift for the occasion, Kardashian instead requested a white Ferrari.
She said Low later sent her money to buy the car herself instead.
“Once she was told the money came in, she just thought ‘Let’s get me a car’,” read the FBI report.
The FBI documents were released after they were submitted to US prosecutors in a corruption case against Prakazrel “Pras” Michél — a member of the Grammy-winning musical group Fugees — who is being charged with money laundering also in relation to 1MDB.
The documents also detailed how in April 2018, DiCaprio was questioned by investigators from the FBI, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Justice Department.
Reportedly, DiCaprio denied having knowledge of the source of Low's wealth and said that although his managers had done a background check on Low, the actor could not remember the check’s outcome.
DiCaprio also reportedly described meetings he had with Riza and McFarland, where details about Low were discussed.
“Jho Low initially gained access to Najib through (Riza) Aziz. Low used his connection to Najib to get access to the business world,” read the FBI document referring to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
DiCaprio claimed to have met Najib twice — once at the Bel Aire Hotel around the time that Najib was in the US to meet former president Barack Obama, and another time during a charity event.
