NINE QUESTIONS FOR SARAWAK REPORT: BREAKING / "THE WOLVES" REACH A SETTLEMENT WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, THE NOOSE TIGHTENING AROUND CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN & CO'S NECKS

IN what looks like an upsetting development for the Sarawak Report camp, the US Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Red Granite Pictures - the notorious producers of the critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking 'Wolf of Wall Street' starring Leonardo DiCaprio as renegade American stock broker, Jordan Belfort who made a killing pumping and dumping non-performing stocks and repackaging them as bluechips with ridiculously inflated prices.

In what can best be described as a caper like no other, we are starting to think that Red Granite Pictures really should consider making a movie of this whole 1MDB saga, and also a mini-series on the shenanigans of the Clare Rewcastle Brown and Lukas Straumann pairing, not forgetting the financiers and politicians behind them. It's time that their sinister motivations - masked as civil rights crusades and environmental campaigning, when that cannot be farther from the actual truth - be exposed for what they truly are.

– The NINE QUESTIONS Panel

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2. RELATED: 'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER SETTLES U.S. FORFEITURE SUIT

3. RELATED: 'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER REACHES SETTLEMENT IN CORRUPTION CASE

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'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER RED GRANITE SETTLES FORFEITURE CASE WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT

Prosecutors previously told the court civil discovery would have an adverse effect on the related criminal investigation.

REPORTED BY THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Red Granite Pictures and the U.S. government have resolved the civil forfeiture case related to a Malaysian embezzlement investigation, according to a notice of settlement filed in California federal court Friday.

The feds had been seeking seizure of more than $1 billion in assets that were allegedly diverted by high-level Malaysian officials into shell companies, some of which may have been used to fund Red Granite's films. The company is run by CEO Riza Aziz, the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and prosecutors believed it received about $100 million of the embezzled funds. A separate civil forfeiture targeting profits from Red Granite's Daddy's Home and Dumb and Dumber To has also settled.

"The parties are pleased to inform the Court that Red Granite and the government have reached a settlement in principle. The contemplated settlement, which remains subject to final documentation and necessary approvals within the government, will fully resolve the actions ... and any other potential claims involving Red Granite or any of its assets, and will continue to hold harmless third parties that do business with Red Granite," writes Red Granite attorney Matthew Schwartz.

Red Granite issued a statement Friday following the filing: "We are glad to finally put this matter behind us and look forward to refocusing all of our attention back on our film business."

Malaysian financier Jho Low is currently fighting seizure of his music publishing assets in connection with the embezzlement investigation. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer on Wednesday granted a motion to stay that civil case, along with the now-settled matters. He found the court has no reason to doubt the government's claim that "a criminal investigation is ongoing into the underlying money laundering allegations that form the basis for all of these civil forfeiture cases" and "the revelation of discoverable facts in these cases could reveal investigative methods of the investigation, subject witnesses and informants to intimidation or retaliation, and raise the potential for evidence destruction."

(''Wolf of Wall Street' Producer Red Granite Settles Forfeiture Case with U.S. Government.' – The Hollywood Reporter, September 15, 2017)

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1. 'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER RED GRANITE SETTLES FORFEITURE CASE WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT

3. RELATED: 'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER REACHES SETTLEMENT IN CORRUPTION CASE

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'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER SETTLES U.S. FORFEITURE SUIT

REPORTED BY BLOOMBERG

The producer of “The Wolf of Wall Street” settled a forfeiture lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department alleging the movie was funded by money siphoned from a Malaysian state investment fund.

Lawyers for Red Granite Pictures Inc., which was co-founded by Riza Aziz, a stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, said in a filing Friday in federal court in Los Angeles that they have reached a “settlement in principle” with the government.

Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. It will also cover U.S. forfeiture claims against the producer’s rights and interests in two other pictures, "Daddy’s Home" and "Dumb and Dumber To."

"We are glad to finally put this matter behind us and look forward to refocusing all of our attention back on our film business," Red Granite said in a statement.

The complaint against the 2013 picture, directed by Martin Scorsese, is among more than two dozen forfeiture lawsuits filed by the U.S. against $1.7 billion assets that were allegedly acquired with money stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. The assets include mansions in Beverly Hills, California, luxury condos in New York, jewelry and artworks.

The Justice Department sought the profits, royalties and distribution proceeds that are owed to Red Granite Pictures. The movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio took in $392 million in worldwide ticket sales, according to the website Box Office Mojo.

Bombardier Jet

Riza is a friend of Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, the Malaysian financier whom the U.S. alleges orchestrated the scheme to loot $4.5 billion from the Malaysian fund going back to 2009. Of the allegedly stolen money, $1.7 billion has been traced to assets in the U.S. and U.K., including a stake in New York’s Park Lane Hotel, a stake in EMI Music Publishing, a $35-million Bombardier Jet, and a $30-million penthouse at Time Warner Center.

Trusts for Low and his family are fighting lawsuits seeking to forfeit those assets.

The Justice Department last month asked a judge to put the civil forfeiture lawsuits on hold because it doesn’t want to have disclose the identities of witnesses and other sensitive information while it’s pursuing a parallel criminal investigation.

U.S. prosecutors in June escalated its efforts to recover assets they claim were acquired with stolen funds by filing a second round of 1MDB-related forfeiture lawsuits. The new claims include a $1.29 million heart-shaped diamond and a $3.8 million diamond pendant Low gave in 2014 to his then-girlfriend, actress Miranda Kerr. Low allegedly also gave a $3.2 million Picasso painting to DiCaprio, according to the new lawsuits.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, declined to comment because some details of the settlement haven’t been finalized yet.

The case is U.S. v. “Wolf of Wall Street,” 16-05362, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

(''Wolf of Wall Street' Producer Settles U.S. Forfeiture Suit.' – Bloomberg, September 15, 2017)

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1. 'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER SETTLES U.S. FORFEITURE CASE WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT

2. RELATED: 'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER SETTLES U.S. FORFEITURE SUIT

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'WOLF OF WALL STREET' PRODUCER REACHES SETTLEMENT IN CORRUPTION CASE

REPORTED BY VARIETY

Red Granite Pictures, dogged for more than a year by its connection to a massive Malaysian corruption case, on Friday reached a settlement with federal prosecutors.

The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture case in July 2016, seeking to recoup proceeds from “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Prosecutors alleged that Red Granite — whose CEO, Riza Aziz, is the step-son of Malaysia’s prime minister — used funds embezzled from a Malaysian development authority to produce the film.

The case was one part of a much broader effort to seize more than $1 billion in assets, out of $4.5 billion allegedly stolen from the development fund, known as 1MDB. Prosecutors have seized a Picasso and a Basquiat that were gifted to Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as an Oscar statuette that once belonged to Marlon Brando.

Details of the deal were not released. Red Granite has consistently maintained that it did not knowingly accept stolen funds. The company has been working for several months to resolve the case, and agreed to the appointment of an outside fiduciary to oversee the company’s operations. In an apparent vote of confidence, prosecutors in August agreed to put the company’s CFO back in charge of the company’s finances.

Red Granite is seeking to release “Papillon,” a remake of the 1973 Steve McQueen film that stars Charlie Hunnam, and has sought to dispel the cloud of alleged corruption surrounding the company.

In addition to resolving the government’s initial claim for “The Wolf of Wall Street” proceeds, the settlement resolves a subsequent claim for revenues from two other films, “Daddy’s Home” and “Dumb and Dumber To.”

The settlement does not end the legal difficulties for Aziz, who is also alleged to have used embezzled funds to purchase luxury real estate. In its original complaint, the government alleged that Aziz used stolen money to buy a $35 million condominium at the Park Laurel in New York, a $41.8 million townhouse in London, and a $17.5 million mansion in Beverly Hills. The civil cases seeking to seize each of those properties remain unresolved.

In a recent filing, in which prosecutors sought to put the asset forfeiture cases on hold, the government identified Aziz as one of the figures allegedly involved in criminal activity. U.S. investigators are working with their counterparts in several other countries to pursue criminal charges in the 1MDB scandal.

In a statement, Red Granite said, “We are glad to finally put this matter behind us and look forward to refocusing all of our attention back on our film business.”