Abu Dhabi-based fund Mubadala Development Co. reportedly is in talks with the U.S. Department of Justice for approval to buy the remaining 50% stake in Viceroy Hotel Group from Jho Low, a financier linked by prosecutors to Malaysia’s 1MDB corruption scandal, according to a Financial Times report.
Sources told the FT that DoJ approval could come within days for Mubadala, which already owns 50% of the company with about a dozen hotels around the world. Low and affiliates purchased rights to and interests in the hotel group with funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The Justice Department filed complaints on Thursday seeking to recover US$540 million stolen from 1MDB, in the latest legal action tied to alleged money-laundering at the fund that brought the total claims by the DoJ to more than US$1.7 billion.