Investvine-Sept 29
The story of the multi-billion-dollar graft scandal involving Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) – believed to be the world’s largest-ever fraud case – will be turned into a movie by Malaysian actress-turned-producer Michelle Yeoh and the producers of the successful 2018 comedy-drama Crazy Rich Asians.
The movie will be is based on the recently published book Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood And The World, which tells the story of the scandal’s alleged mastermind, fugitive Malaysian “financier” Jho Low. The book has reportedly sold out in most bookstores in Malaysia.
Yeoh is set to turn the book into a film with her new role as producer at Ivanhoe Pictures, which co-produced and co-financed Crazy Rich Asians and through its parent company SK Global has already acquired the movie rights for it.
The movie will center on Low who allegedly moved billions of dollars from 1MDB through a series of Swiss banks and shell accounts, squandering it to pay celebrities to hang around him at parties, to fund an over-the-top movie about a Wall Street swindler starring Leonardo DiCaprio, to buy a luxury yacht and upscale properties, to buy art kept hidden in a Swiss warehouse for the ultra-rich and to pay for lots and lots of champagne.
So glamorous and extensive was Low’s wheeling and dealing that a whole host of other stars, including Paris Hilton, Miranda Kerr and Jamie Foxx were drawn into the financier’s orbit. His whereabouts are unknown, but he is believed to be hiding somewhere in Asia, with reports stating he has been seen in Macao, Shanghai and Bangkok. In a recent rare statement, Low denied any wrongdoing.
The volume of the theft is estimated at $4.5 billion. Investigators allege that millions of dollars were also going into the pockets of Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak. The scandal broke in 2015, resulting in a voter backlash during Malaysia’s general election in May, when Najib’s governing Barisan Nasional coalition was toppled after 61 years in power.
