A civil action was filed by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in the Malaysian High Court against Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz and the Red Granite Group of Companies, alleging misappropriation of funds linked to the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The claim asserted that approximately US$248 million (approximately RM1.25 billion) had been diverted from 1MDB and received by Riza Aziz and his company Red Granite Pictures, funds which 1MDB alleged were used in part to finance film production activities

Riza Aziz, co-founder of the American film production company Red Granite Pictures, is known for producing films including The Wolf of Wall Street, Daddy’s Home, and Dumb and Dumber To through his company. The lawsuit claimed that significant payments received by Red Granite and Aziz came from 1MDB-linked sources and that no satisfactory explanation or legitimate source had been established for those transfers.

During the course of proceedings, evidence and witness testimony were filed by both Parties, including material presented by the defence aimed at demonstrating the existence of a prior global settlement and communications with relevant authorities concerning the disputed funds. The defence called as its first witness Dato’ Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin, Director of the Special Operations Division of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, whose testimony confirmed the existence of that global settlement. Following the commencement of the defence case, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) withdrew the action. The High Court subsequently ordered 1MDB to pay RM225,000 in costs to Riza Aziz and the Red Granite Group of Companies.