Qatar paid Trump's Hamas deal maker $623 million for hotel

Qatar paid Trump’s Hamas deal maker $623 million for hotel
Dr. Aaron Lerner 22 January 2025

President Trump may be correct that Steve Witkoff was clueless about Hamas
and Israel when he appointed him to hammer through a hostage deal before the
January 20th inauguration, but Mr. Witkoff certainly knew something about
Qatar.

Qatar Investment Authority purchased Park Lane Hotel for $623m
The building’s status was in limbo for almost six years due to the owners’
unsuccessful $1bn auction attempt in 2017.
Hotel Management Network August 30, 2023
https://www.hotelmanagement-network.com/news/qatar-investment-authority-hote
l-623m/?cf-view

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has purchased the Park Lane Hotel, New
York, which was formerly caught up in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad
(1MDB) scandal, reported Bloomberg.

According to city property records, the hotel was acquired by Qatar’s
sovereign wealth fund for $623m.

The 26-storey property is located on Central Park South, Manhattan.

Financier Jho Low, also known as Low Taek Jho, was a member of the group
that owned the hotel.

In 2022, Low was convicted in the US of corruption charges related to
embezzling billions of dollars from the Malaysian investment fund.

The US Justice Department had at first wanted to confiscate the hotel as
part of its probe against Low.

But the department later reached a deal with the owners, led by developer
Steven Witkoff, for the divestment of the property instead. It holds Low’s
portion of the proceeds in escrow.

The building’s status was in limbo for almost six years due to the owners’
unsuccessful $1bn auction attempt in 2017.

According to a Bloomberg report, real estate and management company Witkoff
Group and the Qatar Investment Authority have not responded to requests for
comment regarding the sale, which was first reported by Pincuso.

In 2019, Mubadala Investment Co of Abu Dhabi purchased a stake in the hotel
for $140m.

This transaction was facilitated by Low’s decision to relinquish his ownersh
ip rights to the property in a US forfeiture lawsuit.

The Justice Department confiscated his ownership share based on allegations
that Low used the money stolen from 1MDB to obtain it.

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Source: https://www.imra.org.il/story.php?id=74302