The paintings, valued at more than US$30 million (approximately RM140 million), are owned by former 1MDB general counsel Loo Ai Swan, better known as Jasmine Loo and are currently held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses in the United States.

MACC special operations senior director Zamri Zainul Abidin said the anti-graft agency was looking at the logistics of transporting the renowned paintings back to Malaysia.

“We are assessing the costs and logistical requirements of shipping these assets here,” he said, according to Sinar Harian.

“We also have plans to place the works at the National Art Gallery, and we do not rule out the possibility of exhibiting them to the public.”

Zamri said MACC was still tracking and investigating various assets, including high-value properties and financial holdings, linked to 1MDB.

On Monday, a MACC source said the cost of bringing back the paintings was very high as they would require special storage areas, periodical checks, conservation treatment, and continuous maintenance. It would also involve close coordination among the foreign enforcement agencies.

The return of these assets has been approved as part of 1MDB-related asset recovery efforts following bilateral discussions between MACC and the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice.

Among the identified works of art are Pablo Picasso’s lithograph L’Ecuyere et les Clowns, a Joan Miró’s work in the Composition series, William H Bailey’s Still Life; Alexander Calder’s Studies for Sculpture; and a work by Henri Matisse in his Femme Assise series.

It is understood that only eight of the paintings will be brought back initially, while four others are still subject to court orders.