Hip-hop artist and record producer Swizz Beatz received $800,000 in allegedly stolen money to perform at the now-infamous blow-out birthday bash for disgraced Malaysian businessman Jho Low in Las Vegas, court papers show.
The money is part of a cache of $7 billion that was illegally siphoned off from 1MDB, a Malaysian development fund largely controlled by Low, Singapore authorities say.
Bank statements revealing the payment are now part of a court case in Singapore, which has shut down the BSI Bank there for its role in the alleged massive money-laundering scheme.
“Swizz should have known better,” a source sniffed of the controversy, adding that Beatz and his singer wife, Alicia Keyes, jet-setted around the world with plump, seemingly deep-pocketed Low.
“They didn’t like him, but they did like his money.”
Beatz joins Leo DiCaprio as the latest celebrity to be caught up in the scandal.
DiCaprio’s “Wolf of Wall Street” film was funded by a Hollywood production company co-created by the Malaysian prime minister’s stepson with allegedly stolen 1MDB money, authorities have said.
Beatz’s lawyer did not return calls. A rep for Keyes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The court papers in the sensational case also show that Hillel “Helly” Nahmad, a New York-based billionaire art dealer, allegedly received $1.5 million from Low that was also presumably stolen from 1MDB.
Nahmad was jailed in 2013 for his role in a separate celebrity sports betting scandal that tangentially included DiCaprio.
In the past, the art dealer brought DiCaprio along when he sold art to Low and others, sources said.
Nahmad and the Hollywood star are buddies.
The court documents don’t show what Low’s payment to Nahmad was for, but the exchange is likely to draw the attention of the US government, which has launched a record $1 billion forfeiture case against 1MDB to seize any assets bought with the alleged stolen dough, sources said.
“I think the US government will want to know about this,” a source said of Low’s payment to Nahmad.
1MDB is short for 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which was created by Low and run by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has admitted no wrongdoing and jailed citizens who call him corrupt.
At least six countries are investigating Low. Much of his money has been frozen.
“He is moving around Taiwan, China and Thailand,” a source said, and he is also hiding out on his yacht, Equanimity.
Beatz was not the only celebrity to perform at the November 2012 bash for Low in Vegas.
Brittney Spears was paid around $250,000 to perform three songs but instead sang “Happy Birthday,” a la Marilyn Monroe, and left, according to Page Six. It is unclear who paid her.
Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Psy and Jaime Foxx were also paid to perform, along with Ludacris and Chris Brown, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were paid to show up.
Other guests included DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Benicio del Toro and Michael Phelps.
Two hundred and fifty scantily clad women and and dwarf “oompah loompas,” along with Cirque du Soleil style performers, entertained the crowd.
The Beatz payment was first reported by The Sarawak Report, an online investigative blog.