Four artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, and Diane Arbus, seized by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, sold for a combined $36 million in an online auction conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The lots included Basquiat's *Self Portrait* (1982) for $8.3 million and *Red Man One* (1982) for $22 million, Picasso's *Tête de taureau et broc* (1939) for $5 million, and Arbus's *Child with a Toy Hand Grenade* for $500,150. The auction, held by Gaston and Sheehan in Texas, ran from July 16 to September 4.
The sale marks a significant milestone in the U.S. government's ongoing effort to recover assets from the 1MDB scandal, the largest kleptocracy case in history, in which $4.5 billion was embezzled from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund. The artworks were surrendered by figures including film producer Christopher Joey McFarland and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who had received them as gifts from alleged mastermind Jho Low. Proceeds will be distributed to victims of the crime, with the Justice Department having already repatriated approximately $1.4 billion.