KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Friday charged one of the “Wolf of Wall Street” film producers, and stepson of former prime minister Najib Razak, with money laundering, alleging he misappropriated $248 million linked to state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Riza Aziz, a co-founder of Hollywood production firm Red Granite Pictures that was behind the Oscar-nominated film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” was charged with five counts of money laundering.
Prosecutors alleged Riza received a total of $248 million as a result of misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
Riza pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Each charge carries a financial penalty of up to five million ringgit ($1.21 million), a maximum jail term of five years, or both.
The court granted Riza bail at one million ringgit and asked him to surrender his passports.
After unexpectedly losing an election to Mahathir Mohamad in May last year, Najib has been slapped with a series of corruption charges, mostly tied to losses at now-defunct 1MDB.
Najib, who founded 1MDB in 2009, faces 42 criminal charges related to huge losses at the fund and other state entities. He has pleaded not guilty and has consistently denied wrongdoing.
The US Justice Department has estimated that a total of $4.5 billion was misappropriated by high-level officials at 1MDB and their associates between 2009 and 2014.
1MDB is being investigated in at least six countries for alleged money laundering and graft.
US prosecutors have said Red Granite had financed three films using funds they suspect were stolen from 1MDB.
Red Granite paid the US government $60 million in September 2017 to settle a civil forfeiture claim over the rights to “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
‘Wolf of Wall Street’ producer charged with 1MDB money laundering in Malaysia
‘Wolf of Wall Street’ producer charged with 1MDB money laundering in Malaysia
- Riza Aziz, a co-founder of Hollywood production firm Red Granite Pictures, is the stepson of former prime minister Najib Razak
- He is accused of misappropriated $248 million linked to state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)
Indonesia’s first woman president awarded honorary doctorate by Princess Nourah University
- Megawati was recognized for her leadership and contributions to social, legal affairs
- She has received 10 other honorary degrees from Indonesian and foreign institutions
JAKARTA: Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as Indonesia’s fifth president and was the country’s only female head of state to date, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, becoming the first foreign national to receive the title.
Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia’s first President Sukarno and chairwoman of the country’s largest political party, the PDIP, served as president from 2001 to 2004.
The 79-year-old was awarded an honorary doctorate in organizational and legal affairs in Riyadh on Monday during a ceremony overseen by Princess Nourah University’s acting president, Dr. Fawzia bint Sulaiman Al-Amro.
“This recognition was given in appreciation of her efforts during her presidency, her significant contributions to social, organizational, and legal fields, and her role in strengthening institutional leadership in Indonesia,” the university said in a statement.
This is Megawati’s 11th honorary doctorate. She has received similar degrees from Indonesian and foreign universities, including the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 2003 and the Soka University of Japan in 2020.
She has also been awarded the title of honorary professor by several institutions, including by the Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2022.
“We gather at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, a university that stands as a symbol of women’s progress in education, knowledge and public service … To see so many intelligent women, I feel very proud,” Megawati said in her acceptance speech.
“Women’s empowerment is not a threat to any values, culture or tradition. It is actually a condition for nations that believe in their future … A great nation is one that is able to harness all of its human potential. A strong nation is one that does not allow half of its social power to be left on the sidelines of history.”
Megawati is the longest-serving political leader in Indonesia. Indonesia’s first direct presidential elections took place during her presidency, consolidating the country’s transition to democracy after the downfall of its longtime dictator Suharto in 1998.
