How development money reached a Hollywood production
Malaysia created 1MDB as a state-owned investment fund intended to attract capital for projects that could support the country’s economic development. It borrowed money and moved funds through a web of companies and bank accounts. Investigators later found that billions of dollars raised for or held by the fund had been diverted for private use.
Some of the money flowed through offshore accounts before reaching businesses and purchases far removed from development projects. U.S. authorities traced funds linked to the scheme to Red Granite Pictures, the production company behind The Wolf of Wall Street. The company was co-founded by Riza Aziz, then-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stepson. Authorities said money derived from 1MDB had helped finance the film; Red Granite later agreed to forfeit assets in a U.S. settlement.
The same money trail, on and off screen
The diversion was not limited to film financing. Investigators also traced funds to luxury real estate, jewelry, artwork, and other high-value purchases. That contrast captures the scandal’s central economic cost: money raised in the name of national development was routed toward private consumption and investments instead.
The film’s subject is a stockbroker who turns financial excess into spectacle. Its financing story made the irony unusually concrete—not because the movie documented the 1MDB scheme, but because money tied to that scheme helped bring a story about extravagant wealth to the screen.
