1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) said today it had never invested in nor transferred funds to Red Granite Pictures, whether directly or via intermediaries.
Any statement to the contrary is false, it said.
“We, therefore, deny any suggestion that 1MDB funded the production of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, or had any involvement with the film in any capacity, as has been alleged or implied in some recent media reports,” it added, in a statement today.
This very short statement of denial from 1MDB contrasts with previous rambling outpourings from the fund, all claiming its innocence.
And it is not good enough.
WSJ have made a very specific allegation that money from 1MDB was misappropriated to a fake company purporting to be a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Aabar fund, but which wasn’t.
The WSJ goes on to say that US$105 million of that was sent directly to Red Granite Capital, belonging to the Prime Minister’s step-son, Riza Aziz, to fund Wolf of Wall Street.
More money was ‘loaned’ indirectly to Red Granite via another intermediary company Telinia Holdings (BVI), which is now closed down, raising questions about how the ‘loan’ can be repaid?
If 1MDB deny this, then they have no alternative but to sue WSJ in the United States, based on these very clear factual allegations – which if not true can easily be shown to be not true.
A weak and pathetic three line denial just doesn’t cut Mr Kanda.