Wolf of Wall Street Producers In Trouble

The 2013 film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role was directed by Martin Scorcese. The movie was produced by Red Granite Pictures which, according to latest reports, might have landed in some major legal trouble. It has been named in a multibillion-dollar scandal which also involves the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak.

The production studio and the Malaysian prime minister are related to the scandal through the co-founder of the studio Riza Aziz, who is the son of Najib Razak. The studio arranged $100 million that were required to finance the film. The 136-page civil complaint filed by the US Justice Department also states that some of the money was used for lavish trips to Las Vegas.

In their defence, Red Granite Pictures states, “To Red Granite’s knowledge, none of the funding it received four years ago was in any way illegitimate and there is nothing in today’s civil lawsuit claiming that Red Granite knew otherwise”. It adds, “Red Granite continues to cooperate fully with all inquiries and is confident that when the facts come out, it will be clear that Riza Aziz and Red Granite did nothing wrong”.

Source: zimbio.com

The complaint states that between June 2012 and November 2012, Aziz got $238 million from an investment firm tied to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). It also targets Leonardo DiCaprio, though indirectly, as “a lead actor in The Wolf of Wall Street who won a Golden Globe for the movie” in the list of people who were present in the Las Vegas gambling fiesta.