The U.S. government is closely making a follow up on the case tied to assets believed to have been diverted by a number of the top officials in Malaysia. The latest reports indicate that feds filed a complaint that sought to seize rights to the Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home.
The government insists that indeed a lot of the money that was channeled towards the production of these films is tied to foreign corruption. The feds will soon scrutinize the various gifts given a couple of celebrities. These include the high-valued paintings such as the one that Leonardo DiCaprio once enjoyed. It is at the moment in government’s possession.
In the previous year, a similar complaint was forwarded at the California federal court. This was in line with the Wolf of Wall Street which was directed by Martin Scorsese. The feds have uncovered that the film was funded using assets from a fund called 1Malaysia Development Berdhard (1MDB).After that, they were diverted into the shell companies.
As a matter of fact, part of the money was moved to Red Granite which is run by CEO Riza Aziz, the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The controversy is getting more complex with time. Of $4.5 billion allegedly misappropriated, some top reliable sources indicate that a section went “to finance the co-conspirators’ lavish lifestyles, including purchases of artwork and jewelry, the acquisition of luxury real estate and luxury yachts, the payment of gambling expenses, and the hiring of musicians and celebrities to attend parties.”
In May, a number of the federal prosecutors spoke to the California federal judge citing that the U.S. government was in active talks in efforts to arrive at a favorable agreement with Red Granite Pictures.
One of the complaints revealed that indeed Shell Company summoned Aabar-BVI, incorporated in Abu Dhabi and had maintained about $1.367 billion from the 1MDB fund. A lot of people are looking forward to what comes out of the active discussions that Red Granite is spearheading. It seeks to resolve the civil cases. According to Usatoday.com, it seems to be cooperating fully.
