Updated

Updated · Complex · Jul 21

Kimora Lee Simmons Seeks Spousal Support in Tim Leissner Divorce, Corrects 11-Year-Old Son Custody Error

Updated

Updated · Complex · Jul 21

Kimora Lee Simmons Seeks Spousal Support in Tim Leissner Divorce, Corrects 11-Year-Old Son Custody Error

Q: Are Kimora Lee Simmons's assets entangled with the billions stolen in the 1MDB financial scandal?

Yes. Kimora Lee Simmons’s finances appear to be legally entangled with assets linked to the 1MDB scandal through her estranged husband, Tim Leissner, though she has not been accused of wrongdoing. Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs banker now imprisoned over the 1MDB scheme, admitted using illicit proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle. Court testimony and reporting indicate that a Beverly Hills estate he bought with Simmons in 2017 for $25 million was financed with money stolen from 1MDB. That property later became the subject of private litigation, although it was not forfeited by the U.S. government. There is also an ongoing civil fight over other assets. Goldman Sachs is trying to recover more than $20.67 million plus interest from Leissner and has argued that certain Celsius Holdings shares under dispute actually belong to Simmons. Simmons has intervened in that case and is contesting ownership issues, while a judge has ordered financial discovery involving her bank records. That means some assets she claims are now part of litigation tied to Leissner’s 1MDB-related liabilities. What is not established is that Simmons herself participated in the fraud. The available record says she is not accused of wrongdoing. But because Leissner’s criminal proceeds, forfeiture obligations, and creditor claims may overlap with marital or jointly held property, some of her assets are caught up in the legal fallout from the billions stolen in 1MDB.

3 articles · Updated · Complex · Jul 21

Kimora Lee Simmons told the court she has held primary custody of 11-year-old son Wolfe since 2020, correcting an initial TMZ report that mistakenly said she wanted Tim Leissner to have primary custody.
In her response to Leissner’s April divorce filing, Simmons asked that he pay her spousal support and legal fees, while blocking any order requiring her to support him.
Leissner had sought joint legal and physical custody of Wolfe, requested spousal support from Simmons, and asked the court to terminate her ability to collect alimony from him.
The split follows a 2014 marriage and a 2022 legal separation, with Leissner now incarcerated until late September 2027 after pleading guilty in the 1MDB scandal.