Leonardo DiCaprio with his arm around Riza Aziz at the Golden Globe Awards Ceremony where DiCaprio won for Best Actor
US prosecutors have accused Mr Aziz's production company of misappropriating money from a multi-billion dollar state fund to finance the film.
The funding of Aziz’ company Red Granite Pictures, luxury properties in New York and California, a private jet and art works by van Gogh and Monet all to the value of US$1.3 billion is believed to have been funded by cash siphoned from the Malaysian Investment Fund 1MDB set up by Aziz’ stepfather, the now disgraced Najib Razak.
Aziz showered DiCaprio with gifts, including the Best Actor Oscar won by Marlon Brando for “On the Waterfront”, estimated to be worth US$600,000, and a Picasso painting. DiCaprio has handed all gifts over to the US Justice Department.
There is already a thread on the 1MDB scandal focussing on the trial of Najib Rajak and his wife, whose conspicuous consumption in the form of more than 567 designer handbags, many stuffed with cash, and worth US$273 million, has earned her the nickname the ‘Imelda Marcos of Malaysia’. Najib himself was found to have US$680 million in a private account which is believed to have been siphoned out of 1MDB funds. Najib is about to go on trial facing more than 40 counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power.
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The 1MDB scandal has been called the “world’s most extensive financial con.” Set up by Najib as a multi-billion dollar wealth fund to attract overseas funds to invest in Malaysian development projects, the US Department of Justice alleges at least US$4.5 billion was siphoned off from the Fund between 2009 and 2014.
A number of banks have been caught up in the scandal. For the first time in its history, Goldman Sachs has faced criminal charges over its role in three bond issues for 1MDB in 2012 and 2013 for which it earned US$593 million in fees. A clutch of Singapore banks are also involved. The Singapore branch of Swiss private bank BSI was accused of money laundering and had its banking licence withdrawn by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Soon thereafter, this bank’s Board in Switzerland agreed to completely close down the 140-year old bank’s worldwide operations. Another Swiss bank Falcon PBS, UBS, Credit Suisse, Singapore’s DBS and Standard Chartered are also alleged to have been involved in money laundering in connection with the 1MDB scam.
As of December 2018, 1MDB’s debts totalled Ringit 39 billion = US$9.43 billion.
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