Red Granite Picture’s Riza Aziz was detained for five money laundering allegations on Thursday. The producer pleaded not guilty to five counts of money laundering in relation to his stepfather and former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s investment scam.
Aziz was arrested by Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Not long after on bail, the Hollywood producer was released. Yesterday he was summoned to court for formal charges.
Aziz is regarded as Red Granite Pictures ‘ co-founder in Tinseltown. This is the production company behind the 2013 movie Wolf of Wall Street by Martin Scorsese, starring veteran actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
MACC alleges that Good Star and 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) laundered cash to the production company. In the opening credits of the Martin Scorsese movie, fugitive financier Low Taek Jho who is connected with Good Star was credited.
Aziz ‘ production company forfeited an amount of USD57 million back in May as a payment to Malaysia for the recovery of looted amounts from 1MDB. According to the United States Department of Justice, an estimate of USD 4.5 billion has been robbed from the fund.
Aziz’s sister Nooryana Najwa took to Instagram to defend her brother writing: “Despite the settlement in the U.S. and the fact that alleged wrongdoings occurred entirely outside of Malaysia, the MACC decides to press charges after a whole year of leaving this case in cold storage. He is not a criminal.”
Razak and Rosmah Mansor’s spouse face numerous accusations of corruption in Malaysia. The government of the former prime minister was brought down by the scandal of the 1MDB. The accusations were rejected by both.
