The deal will not grant Mr. Low special treatment in the criminal case against him involving a looted Malaysian fund.

Jho Low Will Give Up as Much as $900 Million in Assets in 1MDB Scandal

The mysterious Malaysian financier at the center of an international money laundering scandal that toppled a prime minister and rocked Goldman Sachs has given up his claim to hundreds of millions of dollars in luxury apartments, yachts, jets and artwork that prosecutors say were bought with stolen money.

In a deal with federal prosecutors, the fugitive financier, Jho Low, has agreed to stop fighting for assets valued at $650 million to $900 million that were seized starting in 2016, according to court documents and two people familiar with the matter. It is one of the largest civil asset forfeiture recoveries by the United States government.

“We believe all parties consider this resolution, which is subject to final court approval, to be a successful and satisfactory result,” he said.

Mr. Low is believed to be living in China, and he has not appeared in criminal court in the United States or Malaysia, where he is also charged. Nevertheless, he released a statement through a spokesman that noted the agreement did not contain an admission of wrongdoing on his part.

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The agreement did not include any provisions offering Mr. Low special treatment in the criminal case pending against him, but prosecutors did agree to allow some of the seized assets to be used for $15 million in fees billed by Mr. Low’s legal team. The lawyers included the former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Robin Rathmell of the law firm Kobre & Kim and the law firm Lowenstein Sandler.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and at the Justice Department’s money laundering division in Washington have overseen dozens of asset forfeiture actions in the case. The actions resolved on Wednesday centered on Mr. Low, a number of trusts and others associated with him, including members of his family who may have benefited from his actions. Other forfeiture actions are still pending.

“Thanks to this settlement, one of the men allegedly at the center of this massive scheme will lose all access to hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Nicola T. Hanna, the United States attorney for the Central District of California. “The message in this case is simple: The United States is not a safe haven for pilfered funds.”

In all, federal authorities say, Mr. Low and his associates, who include the former prime minister of Malaysia, bought more than $1.7 billion in real estate, yachts, jets, jewelry and even financed a Hollywood movie with money looted from a sovereign wealth fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.

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“This is a successful outcome for everyone involved,” said Mr. Rathmell, one of Mr. Low’s lawyers. “Now that we’ve resolved all the existing forfeiture cases involving our clients we’re looking forward to continuing the resolution process.”

Prosecutors in Brooklyn are leading the criminal case against Mr. Low and two former Goldman Sachs bankers. One of the bankers, Tim Leissner, a former top partner at the firm, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to bribery and money laundering. The other, Roger Ng, has pleaded not guilty and could go on trial next spring.

The forfeiture actions were the opening salvo in the long-running investigation by federal authorities and prosecutors in Malaysia into a series of bond deals put together by Goldman Sachs that raised roughly $6.5 billion for 1MDB.

The fund was supposed to finance infrastructure and other development projects to benefit the Malaysian public. Instead, according to prosecutors in the United States and Malaysia, it became a font of corruption for people close to the prime minister at the time, Najib Razak.

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Authorities have said at least $2.7 billion was looted from the fund, fueling an enormous spending spree. The purchases included diamonds, Birkin bags from Hermès and paintings by Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet. Money from the fund also helped finance the Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The bond deals generated $600 million in fees for Goldman Sachs but have caused nothing but headaches for the firm since.

The guilty plea by Mr. Leissner — once a highly valued senior partner at the firm — raised the possibility that Goldman itself could be forced to make up billions of dollars in losses at the fund. Officials in Malaysia have also brought criminal charges against the firm and more than a dozen other Goldman employees.

Mr. Leissner is out on bail as he awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled for December. Prosecutors have not disclosed his whereabouts. The New York Times has asked a judge to unseal the bail package for Mr. Leissner, who is married to the model and fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons.

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The asset deal with Mr. Low will allow prosecutors in the United States to turn their attention to a settlement with Goldman, which is cooperating with the investigation and has said it expects to pay a significant penalty. The Federal Reserve and New York state financial regulators also are investigating.

Negotiations between federal prosecutors and Goldman stalled earlier this year but recently restarted. The bank has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in connection with the bond offerings and has claimed Mr. Leissner’s conduct was not sanctioned or approved by his bosses.

Matthew Goldstein covers Wall Street and white collar crime and housing issues. @mattgoldstein26

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