Malaysia’s 1MDB says it did not provide funds to produce ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’

Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) on Sunday denied reports that it had provided funds to finance the 2013 Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that global investigators believe much of the funds used to make the film were diverted from 1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The Journal quoted unnamed sources who it said were familiar with the work of the investigators.

According to the WSJ, the funds were diverted to a small production company called Red Granite Pictures, which came up with the more than US$100 million needed to finance the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese.

1MDB said in a statement it had never invested in nor transferred funds to Red Granite Pictures, whether directly or via intermediaries.