Firm settles U.S. lawsuit

Financier behind ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ will pay $60 million in corruption case.

The production company behind the 2013 movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” has agreed to pay $60 million to settle its corruption case with the U.S. government, according to documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Red Granite Pictures had reached a settlement in principle with the Justice Department in September, but the terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed at the time.

The West Hollywood company will pay the government $60 million to resolve the case in which U.S. officials had sought to seize about $1.7 billion in assets that it said were purchased with money stolen by Malaysian government officials. Prosecutors said that the stolen money came from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, or 1MDB.

The 1MDB fund was created by the Malaysian government to promote economic development.

The stolen money was used to purchase a wide array of items, including pricey Los Angeles real estate and a $35-million jet. Some of the money was also used to finance movie projects, including “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Red Granite was the sole financier behind “The Wolf of Wall Street,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The Martin Scorsese movie was released by Paramount and was a box-office success, grossing more than $116 million domestically.

The agreement settles claims against “Wolf ” as well as other Red Granite productions, including the comedies “Daddy’s Home” and “Dumb and Dumber To,” which the company co-financed.

Riza Aziz, the co-founder of Red Granite, is the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Red Granite has previously stated that it was unaware of receiving illicit funds.

Tuesday’s filing states that Red Granite will pay the $60 million in three installments spread over a period of about a year. A representative for the production company didn’t respond to a request for comment.