Foreign Desk Report
KUALA LUMPUR: Prosecutors dropped money-laundering charges against Riza Aziz – a Hollywood producer and the stepson of Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak – on Thursday after a deal that officials said included the recovery of $107.3 million of overseas assets.
Riza, the co-founder of Red Granite Pictures that produced the hit movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”, was charged with five counts of money laundering last year over allegations that he had received $248 million misappropriated from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). U.S. and Malaysian authorities say a total of about $4.5 billion was taken from 1MDB – an institution co-founded in 2009 by then-premier Najib. A sessions court judge ruled on Thursday that the charges against Riza would be withdrawn after state prosecutors said they had reached a deal with the accused.
Riza’s lawyer Tara Singh confirmed a deal had been reached and said his client was “pleased to make good on his obligations to the authorities and looks forward to beginning the next chapter of his life.”
