The Wolf of Wall Street producer Red Granite Pictures to forfeit $60 mn using stolen funds

Red Granite Pictures, the producing company of Martin Scorsese’s  The Wolf of Wall Street  starring Leonardo Di Caprio, that had run afoul of the USA government, has come to an agreement to forfeit $60 million to put an end to the company’s exposure to a massive corruption scandal involving a fund known as 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, as reported by Variety. [caption id=“attachment_2648326” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Leonardo DiCaprio in a still from The Wolf of Wall Street. YouTube[/caption] Red Granite co-founder and CEO Raza Aziz, who is the stepson of the Malaysian Prime Minister, has been co-operating with the investigation by The Justice Department into the accused financier Jho Low’s scheme to steal $4.5 billion from the 1MDB fund. Aziz, a friend of Low, has been accused by federal prosecutors of using more than $100 million taken away from 1MDB to finance Wolf of Wall Street, Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home. Financier Low Taek Jho had also received special thanks in the end credits of Wolf Of Wall Street,  as reported by Deadline. According to the forfeiture deal, Red Granite must now pay the $60 million forfeiture in three installments: $30 million within the first 30 days, $20 million 180 days after the first payment, and $10 million 180 days after that. Aziz will not draw a salary during this period except the amount required to keep up a health insurance plan, until the full amount is paid. Paramount had also held the Red Granite’s profits from Daddy’s Home, which will be released to an account controlled by the government. Red Granite has admitted to no guilt, and Aziz claims that he did not use the stolen funds knowingly for the films. “We are glad to finally put this matter behind us and look forward to refocusing all of our attention back on our film business,” said the Red Granite Company in a statement, as reported by Variety. During the investigation, Leonardo Di Caprio had agreed to turn over Marlon Brando’s Oscar statuette, which Red Granite had gifted the actor, as well as three artworks that Low and his associates had given him.