A Hollywood executive who happens to be the stepson of Malaysia’s prime minister may have bought his $33.5 million NYC condominium with dirty money.
Riza Aziz, a producer on the film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” allegedly diverted at least $238 million from a government-owned economic development fund in that country, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Aziz, co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, purchased the 7,700-square-foot duplex at the Park Laurel condo tower at 15 West 63rd Street back in 2012. He also allegedly used $17.5 million diverted from the fund, called the 1Malayasia Development Berhad, to buy a 11,000-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hill.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is studying the alleged misappropriation of billions of dollars from the fund, the Journal reported. Aziz has denied any wrongdoing, as has his stepfather Prime Minister Najib Razak, who allegedly received $1 billion from the fund. Razak claims those funds were donated to him by the Saudi Arabian royal family. [WSJ] – Ariel Stulberg