Artworks by Basquiat and Picasso, connected to the international 1MDB scandal, bring in a total of $36 million at US Marshals' auction.

The US Marshals Service recently conducted an online auction of four artworks that were once the property of individuals implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The auction, which opened on July 16 and closed on September 4, saw these artworks fetching millions of dollars.

The highest bid went to Jean Michel Basquiat's "Red Man One" (1982), which sold for an impressive $22,002,790.00. Another Basquiat piece, "Self Portrait" (1982), fetched $8,332,500. Pablo Picasso's "Tête de taureau et broc" (1939) was sold for $5,000,750.20, while Diane Arbus's "Child with a Toy Hand Grenade" was sold for $500,150.

These artworks were surrendered to the US Department of Justice in connection with the 1MDB scandal. The Justice Department reported last June that it had so far repatriated approximately $1.4 billion from the case, which was dubbed by the U.S. Department of Justice as the "largest kleptocracy case to date."

The four artworks were initially in the possession of individuals who were implicated in the 1MDB scandal. Riza Shahriz Bin Abdul Aziz, the stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, was also involved in using embezzled funds from 1MDB to produce "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Christopher Joey McFarland, co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, surrendered Basquiat's "Self Portrait" to the US government. Gaston and Sheehan, an auction house in Pflugerville, Texas, was contracted by the US government to conduct the sale of the artworks.

In 2017, Leonardo DiCaprio, the "Wolf of Wall Street" star, surrendered the artworks to the US government. However, there are no available records or credible reports indicating that DiCaprio has ever been handed over to US justice authorities.

Gaston and Sheehan sold two other artworks linked to the 1MDB scandal in February 2021: a rare "Metropolis" 1927 film poster and the Andy Warhol painting "Round Jackie" (1964). The starting bid for Basquiat's "Self Portrait" and "Tête de taureau et broc" was $850,000, while the starting bid for Arbus's "Child with a Toy Hand Grenade" was just $4,400.

Proceeds from federal seizures typically go to the Treasury Department, but profits from the sale of assets connected to 1MDB will be distributed among individuals harmed by the crime. The documents detailing the acquisition of the artworks by the US government were filed between 2016 and 2020.

Artworks by Basquiat and Picasso, connected to the international 1MDB scandal, bring in a total of $36 million at US Marshals' auction.