Don’t you love a good plot twist?! Y’all remember the movie ‘Wolf of Wall Street’?.. You know the one with Leonardo DiCaprio? Well word on the street is the makings of the movie was funded stolen money! Ironic right?
According to the NYPost, the US justice Department has filed a civil suit against the film seeking $1 billion as well as all future profits, royalties, and distribution proceeds complaining that it was funded through “an international money-laundering scheme involving a development firm set up by the prime minister of Malaysia.”
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that the funds were stolen from a company called, Malaysia Development Berhad, aka 1MDB. She says that the fund “was created to promote economic development . . . with the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of the Malaysian people [but] unfortunately and tragically, a number of corrupt officials treated this public trust as a personal bank account.”
They also tie the scheme to a production company named Red Granite Pictures which the NY Post describes as “virtually unknown production company.” Apparently Red Granite Productions was responsible for supplying majority of the film’s funds.
So basically, the movie ticket sales total more than $392 million world wide and more than $100 million of the stolen money went towards the production of it and guess what.. The Feds wants all of it! Well too bad for them they can only seize future assets because they aren’t “able to seize anything retroactively.”
They are also after a few other assets which includes:
- A $5.5 million Vincent van Gogh drawing.
- Two paintings by Claude Monet valued at $92.5 million.
- A $240 million stake in the Park Lane Hotel at 36 Central Park South.
- The $50.9 million penthouse at the Walker Tower in Chelsea.
- A $35 million Bombardier jet.
- The $44.8 million L’Ermitage hotel in Beverly Hills.
- A $30.5 million penthouse at the Time Warner Building at
- 80 Columbus Circle, which was bought sight unseen.
The lawsuit claims that none of the Malaysian people saw any profits from the film, instead the coins went to family and friends of the corrupt officials behind it.
If you paid close attention, at the end of the movie the credits included a “special thanks” and of those mentioned were Taek Jho A.K.A Jho Low. He was allegedly one of, if not the biggest, contributer with a $10 million dollar donation. Not only that, the suit also points out Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2014 Golden Globe acceptance speech and his shoutout to Riza Aziz who happens to be the stepson of the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He also gave Joey McFarland a shoutout. But guess what else? Najib also happens to be the co-founder over at Red Granite alongside Joey.
Are you guys picking up what’s being put down?!
The lawsuit goes on to allege that Leonardo went gambling with the aforementioned men at the Venetian Las Vegas back in July 2015 where the group had over $1.15 million worth of 1MDB funds for gambling purposes. Reports claim that the money was deposited into Low’s account.
Here’s how the scheme happened: Red Granite supposedly put the money into a Swiss bank account that was under the name “Good Star Limited.” That money was then transferred into a variety of smaller accounts through City National Bank, LA. That money was then dished out to pay for production costs.
“These funds are directly traceable to the $700 million wire transfer and $330 million wire transfers unlawfully diverted from 1MDB to the Good Star account,” the suit states.
So would you look at that? A movie about a man who scammed millions paid for by some men who are being charged with scamming millions.
source: NYPOST, http://nypost.com/2016/07/20/wolf-of-wall-street-was-financed-with-stolen-money-feds/
TSR STAFF: Chantel P.! @_popchanny on IG!
