Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, on July 5 faces five counts of laundering money from the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)(Photo: www.malaymail.com)Hanoi (VNA) – Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, stepson of former Malaysian PrimeMinister Najib Razak, on July 5 faced five counts of laundering money from thestate fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
TheHollywood producer has become the third person in Najib’s family to facecharges in the scandal.
A KualaLumpur court accused Riza, aged 42, of receiving 248 million USD embezzled fromthe 1MDB fund in the US and Singapore in 2011-2012. Afterward, he transferredthe sum to the bank accounts of his production firm Red Granite Pictures Inc.
Accordingto prosecutors, the firm had used the money to produce Hollywood films,including the Oscar-nominated movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
Riza wasalso alleged to have used part of the funds to purchase several properties inthe US.
He wasasked to pay a penalty worth 1 million ringgit (240,000 USD) and asked tosubmit his passport.
The nexttrial is scheduled to take place on August 9. If found guilty, Riza could face upto five years of imprisonment.
He wasfreed on bail a day after being detained by officials of MalaysianAnti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 4.
Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak founded the 1MDBinvestment fund in 2009, supposedly to serve Malaysia’s development throughglobal partnerships and foreign direct investment.
However, it became the centre of a moneylaundering scandal, allegedly causing losses of up to 4.5 billion USD andleading to probes in Malaysia and several other countries such as the US,Switzerland, Singapore and China.
Najib himself has been on trial for dozens ofcorruption charges involving billions of ringgit from 1MDB while his wifeRosmah Mansor was also facing multiple charges.–VNA
TheHollywood producer has become the third person in Najib’s family to facecharges in the scandal.
A KualaLumpur court accused Riza, aged 42, of receiving 248 million USD embezzled fromthe 1MDB fund in the US and Singapore in 2011-2012. Afterward, he transferredthe sum to the bank accounts of his production firm Red Granite Pictures Inc.
Accordingto prosecutors, the firm had used the money to produce Hollywood films,including the Oscar-nominated movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
Riza wasalso alleged to have used part of the funds to purchase several properties inthe US.
He wasasked to pay a penalty worth 1 million ringgit (240,000 USD) and asked tosubmit his passport.
The nexttrial is scheduled to take place on August 9. If found guilty, Riza could face upto five years of imprisonment.
He wasfreed on bail a day after being detained by officials of MalaysianAnti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 4.
Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak founded the 1MDBinvestment fund in 2009, supposedly to serve Malaysia’s development throughglobal partnerships and foreign direct investment.
However, it became the centre of a moneylaundering scandal, allegedly causing losses of up to 4.5 billion USD andleading to probes in Malaysia and several other countries such as the US,Switzerland, Singapore and China.
Najib himself has been on trial for dozens ofcorruption charges involving billions of ringgit from 1MDB while his wifeRosmah Mansor was also facing multiple charges.–VNA
VNA
