Producer of The Wolf of Wall Street settles US lawsuit linked to Malaysian fund 1MDB
Prosecutors claimed the 2013 blockbuster was financed by Red Granite Pictures using funds stolen from the fund
The film company that made The Wolf of Wall Street and was co-founded by the Malaysian prime minister’s stepson has settled a civil lawsuit brought by the US government to seize assets allegedly bought with money stolen from a Malaysian state fund.
“The parties are pleased to inform the court that Red Granite and the government have reached a settlement in principle,” the filing stated.
Red Granite has said previously that neither it, or its co-founder Riza Aziz, had done anything wrong. The US Justice Department has lodged dozens of lawsuits over the past two years related to the alleged misappropriation of US$4.5 billion from the investment fund, 1MDB.
The US is seeking to seize some US$1.7 billion in assets, making it the largest action brought by the department under its kleptocracy asset recovery initiative.