1MDB Drops $248 Million Lawsuit Against ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’ Producer
Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, has withdrawn its $248 million lawsuit against Riza Aziz, a film producer and stepson of disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Riza and his film companies were accused of misappropriating $248 million to finance movies and other activities linked to the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, which sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland, and Singapore.
Riza’s lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that 1MDB dropped the case at the high court on Monday.
“Riza is relieved, but this entire suit should never have proceeded to trial if 1MDB had conducted due diligence on the earlier global settlement,” his lawyer stated.
According to Farhan, Riza had previously agreed not to contest the US Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture case against him as part of a global settlement.
Riza was charged in 2019, but in 2020, the charges were unexpectedly dropped after he agreed to return $107 million in assets to Malaysia. Despite this, 1MDB filed another lawsuit against him in 2021, which has now been withdrawn.
The 1MDB corruption scandal involved high-ranking officials allegedly embezzling billions from state funds, fueling extravagant spending on luxury properties, fine art, and Hollywood films.
Jho Low, a fugitive financier, was identified as the mastermind behind the scheme. Investigations revealed that money from 1MDB funded lavish purchases in Beverly Hills, New York, and London.
The scandal led to Najib Razak’s ousting in the 2018 elections and his subsequent imprisonment. However, in January 2025, a court ruling brought him closer to serving the remainder of his sentence at home, following a royal decree supporting his appeal.
