Well, this would make a good movie. Anybody know what Martin Scorsese is up to these days? It turns out that Red Granite Pictures, who produced The Wolf of Wall Street, Daddy’s Home, and Dumb and Dumber To, stands accused of accepting money from a Malaysian government investment fund at the center of a multi-billion dollar fraud case. As a result, Red Granite is now legally obligated to shell out $60 million to the U.S. government in during the upcoming twelve months, paying in three separate installments. It was either that, or be forced to destroy every known copy of Dumb and Dumber To. I think the correct choice was made.
Though accused of using millions of illicit dollars from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to finance its films, Red Granite has avoided admittance of guilt by settling. Per CNN, the settlement does not constitute “an admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of Red Granite,” which was recorded as a statement during the filing in the court.
Although for outsiders, it may be hard to find a link between Dumb and Dumber To and the Malaysian government, it turns out that there aren’t many degrees of separation between Red Granite and the pension fund. In fact, on of the the production company’s founders, Riza Aziz, happens to be the stepson of Najib Razak, who is none other than the Malaysian Prime Minister. Still, Red Granite previously denied any wrongdoing, stating, “to [the company’s] knowledge, none of the funding it received [in 2012] was in any way illegitimate and there is nothing in today’s civil lawsuit claiming that Red Granite knew otherwise.”
When this story first broke back in 2016, the Feds were going after all of the profits from The Wolf of Wall Street. The budget for the film was estimated to be $100 million, and it grossed $392 million worldwide. So before you feel too bad for Red Granite Pictures and that $60 million penalty, just imagine the possible Dumb and Dumber sequel they could make for a cool $232 million.
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