Oscar-nominated film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” produced by West Hollywood’s Red Granite Pictures Inc., is at the top of a list that identifies more than $200 million in assets linked to Los Angeles that the United States government aims to recover after an alleged international money laundering conspiracy.
In total, the U.S. government is seeking the forfeiture and recovery of more than $1 billion domestically laundered by high-level officials of 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a fund meant to promote economic development in Malaysia, the Justice Department announced Monday.
“With this action, we are seeking to forfeit and recover funds that were intended to grow the Malaysian economy and support the Malaysian people,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a statement. “Instead, they were stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates.”
According to the civil complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the U.S. government is seeking the rights to “The Wolf of Wall Streets” after a Red Granite investment of at least $100 million.
The U.S. government also aims to collect any future profits, royalties, and proceeds collected in connection to the film, according to the compliant.
A nearly $45 million stake in the Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel is also on the list, which further includes several mansions throughout Beverly Hills and Los Angeles with a value of more than $70 million, according to the Justice Department.
“Stolen money that is subsequently used to purchase interests in music companies, artwork or high-end real estate is subject to forfeiture under U.S. law,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker in a statement.
A shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Tanore Finance Corporation, allegedly purchased a $367,000 work by famed Culver City artist Ed Ruscha using some of the laundered funds, according to the complaint.
The civil complaint is the latest in an ongoing global investigation looking into $3.5 billion purportedly missing from the Malaysian development fund.
