Bangkok: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has handed over an Oscar and other gifts to the US Justice Department, which is moving to recover more than $US1 billion in assets it says were stolen from Malaysia's scandal-hit 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
Prosecutors are also seeking to recover diamonds allegedly given to Australian model Miranda Kerr and rights to the movies Dumb and Dumber To, starring comedian Jim Carrey, and Daddy's Home, starring Will Ferrell.
More Entertainment News Videos
- Video duration
- 02:19
US moves to seize DiCaprio's Picasso
US moves to seize DiCaprio's Picasso
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio turns over an Oscar won by Marlon Brando and US investigators move to seize a Picasso painting of his, as part of a probe into alleged money laundering by a Malaysian investment fund.
Up Next
Private Sydney: The Bachelor's paparazzi woes
- Video duration
- 02:29
- Video duration
- 02:29
Private Sydney: The Bachelor's paparazzi ...
Private Sydney: The Bachelor's paparazzi woes
A high-level hunt has commenced to find out how, or even more disturbingly, who leaked critically sensitive information about the network's hit Bachelor series. Andrew Hornery investigates.
Up Next
Adam West tribute: Bat signal lights up LA
- Video duration
- 00:46
- Video duration
- 00:46
Adam West tribute: Bat signal lights up ...
Adam West tribute: Bat signal lights up LA
The bat signal lit up LA's town hall on Thursday night to pay tribute to legendary Batman actor Adam West.
Up Next
Red Symons' controversial interview
- Video duration
- 01:10
- Video duration
- 01:10
Red Symons' controversial interview
Red Symons' controversial interview
A discussion between podcaster Beverly Wang and radio host Red Symons has him asking her, "Are you yellow?" among other things.
Up Next
Lorde's new album drops
- Video duration
- 01:06
- Video duration
- 01:06
Lorde's new album drops
Lorde's new album drops
After a four year wait, ever-cryptic New Zealand singer Lorde has released her second album 'Melodrama'.
Up Next
Miley Cyrus has stopped smoking weed
- Video duration
- 01:20
- Video duration
- 01:20
Miley Cyrus has stopped smoking weed
Miley Cyrus has stopped smoking weed
An incognito busking stunt kicks off Miley Cyrus's appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Up Next
Judge in Cosby case tells Jury: keep trying
- Video duration
- 01:53
- Video duration
- 01:53
Judge in Cosby case tells Jury: keep ...
Judge in Cosby case tells Jury: keep trying
Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial say they're deadlocked on charges the comedian drugged and molested a woman in 2004, but a judge ordered them to keep trying to reach a unanimous decision.
US moves to seize DiCaprio's Picasso
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio turns over an Oscar won by Marlon Brando and US investigators move to seize a Picasso painting of his, as part of a probe into alleged money laundering by a Malaysian investment fund.
The rights are held by Red Granite Pictures, a Los Angeles-based production company chaired by Riza Aziz, the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Prosecutors claim that Red Granite used $US100 million diverted from 1MDB to finance the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street, starring DiCaprio, who said last year he was co-operating with the investigations.
Related Content
"This money financed the lavish lifestyles of the alleged co-conspirators at the expense and detriment of the Malaysian people," Acting US assistant attorney-general Kenneth Blanco said in a statement.
"Today's complaint reveals another chapter of this multi-year, multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, bringing the total identified stolen proceeds to $US4.5 billion ($5.94 billion)," he said.
Mr Najib, who set up 1MDB in 2009, lashed out hours after the Justice Department filed new lawsuits in its biggest ever kleptocracy case, claiming the "unnecessary and gratuitous" naming of the stars amounted to "political manipulation and interference".
"This suggests a motivation that goes beyond the objective of seizing assets," Mr Najib's press secretary said. "The judicial process is not served by headline-seeking."
But DiCaprio's decision to turn over the Oscar won by Marlon Brando in 1955 for best actor in On The Waterfront and other gifts will intensify pressure on Mr Najib, who analysts say is preparing for early elections this year.
The Oscar was given to DiCaprio as a gift by Red Granite to thank him for starring in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Investigators have revealed that almost $US1 billion that turned up in Mr Najib's personal bank accounts came from 1MDB through a complex web of international financial transactions.
British-educated Mr Najib, who has had close ties to successive Australian governments, has failed to explain what happened to much of the money. He denies any wrongdoing.
The whereabouts of Mr Aziz's confidant Jho Low, a flamboyant Malaysian businessman at the centre of the 1MDB investigations underway in multiple countries, are unknown.
Mr Low has not commented on the allegations. His $US165 million megayacht Equanimity, which prosecutors also want to seize, was reported to be sailing off Cambodia's coast on Thursday.
Prosecutors allege that in 2014 Mr Low gave $US8 million worth of jewellery to Ms Kerr, including a heart-shaped diamond.
The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed person who knows them as saying they were dating at the time.
Ms Kerr was married last month to Snap Inc co-founder Evan Spiegel.
Prosecutors allege that $US30 million was given to Rosmah Mansor, Mr Najib's wife, who also denies any wrongdoing.
They also allege that Mr Low used $US3.2 million diverted from 1MDB to buy a Picasso painting for DiCaprio.
"Happy birthday. This a gift for you," a friend of Mr Low's wrote in a note, Reuters reported.
Other assets prosecutors want to seize include paintings by Van Gogh and Monet and luxury real estate in New York, London and Beverly Hills.
Sandra Brown, a US attorney in California, told reporters the scandal involved a "web of lies and bogus transactions" and said "we simply will not allow the United States to be a place where corrupt individuals can expect to hide assets and lavishly spend money that should be used for the benefit of citizens of other nations".
Within Malaysia, Mr Najib has shrugged off allegations of his involvement as he shut down investigations and cracked down on media outlets reporting on the scandal.
He holds a tight grip on the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation through largesse distributed to the party's rank-and-file.
When Mr Najib set up 1MDB he declared that it would spur economic development in his country. The fund borrowed $US13 billion but has little to show for it.
Red Granite Pictures said in a statement it was "actively engaged in discussions with the Justice Department aimed at resolving these civil cases and is fully cooperating".
with agencies