By 
• In 2014, Miranda Kerr reportedly dated Malaysian financier Jho Low, who gifted her with millions of dollars in jewelry.
• Now, the U.S. government is investigating Low and his associates for allegedly laundering money from the Malaysian government.
• Kerr has returned Low's gifts, including an 11.72-carat diamond pendant, to the Department of Justice.
Supermodel Miranda Kerr has returned $8.1 million worth of jewels gifted to her by an ex-boyfriend—who may have given them to her as part of a money-laundering operation, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The case surrounds Malaysian businessman Jho Low, who reportedly dated Kerr for about a year, before she started dating her now-husband, Snapchat cofounder Evan Spiegel. According to a complaint, Low bought her a 11.72-carat diamond pendant, designed by Lorraine Schwartz, for Valentine's Day. That gift cost $1.29 million. He also allegedly bought her an 8.88-carat diamond pendant that was worth $3.8 million, and then bought her matching earrings, a bracelet, and a ring. A lawsuit claims Low bought the jewelry by misusing money from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, or 1MDB.
Kerr, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit against Low, has fully cooperated with authorities and gave the jewelry to the U.S. Justice Department, Reuters notes. "The transfer of the jewelry gifts from Ms. Kerr's safe deposit box in Los Angeles to government agents was completed on last Friday afternoon," a spokesperson for Kerr said in a statement. "From the start of the inquiry, Miranda Kerr cooperated fully and pledged to turn over the gifts of jewelry to the government. Ms. Kerr will continue to assist with the inquiry in any way she can."
Other assets included movie posters and artwork given to Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as rights to the movies "Dumber and Dumber To" and "Daddy's Home" from Red Granite. The Guardian reports that the U.S. Justice Department is still looking for more than $1 billion in assets they claim were bought with money stolen from the Malaysian government.
Some of the items at issue were provided to the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation for a charity auction. A spokesperson for DiCaprio said that those items, and an Academy Award won by Marlon Brando which was given to DiCaprio as a set gift by Red Granite to thank him for his work on The Wolf of Wall Street, were voluntarily returned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
