In some shocking news : The Wolf of Wall Street Producer Riza Aziz has been charged with embezzling millions of dollars from the Malaysian government. The Guardian has the details:
Riza, who ran a Hollywood production company Red Granite Pictures, appeared in a Kuala Lumpur court on Friday morning charged with five counts of money laundering, accused of receiving $248 million into Swiss bank accounts from the Malaysian state fund 1MDB, which was controlled by Najib. Each charge carries a five-year jail sentence.
Red Granite was a relative unknown on the Hollywood scene before it stumped up $100m to help director Martin Scorsese make The Wolf of Wall Street. Three months after shooting began, Red Granite also presented the film’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio, with the Oscar given to Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront, worth around $600,000, as a lavish birthday present. DiCaprio has since surrendered the statue as part of the 1MDB investigation.
It looks like the producer of a crime movie has his own fair share of crime (allegedly).
image credit: Reuters via The Guradian