The 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street received five Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was based on the memoir of Jordan Belfort, the stockbroker Leonard DiCaprio played in the movie. But did you know that the funds used to produce the film came from a questionable source?
According to the US Justice Department, the film “The Wolf of Wall Street” was linked with stolen money from Malaysian taxes amounting to $1 billion. They have moved to seize assets allegedly acquired using the said funds.
The Wolf of Wall Street: Real or Not?
The film The Wolf of Wall Street is an adaptation of Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name. The whole movie was based on the villain’s point-of-view, which set a tone from the beginning.
Martin Scorsese and Terence Winder handled the script of the film and did rather well. Scorsese had plenty of experience with adapting biographies of criminals. He is well known for his work like; Boardwalk Empire, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman.
In the film, Scorsese and Winter centered the narrative on Belfort’s character. The show was definitely not short on sex, drugs, and financial fraud. But how much of it was actually true, and how much was considered a Hollywood exaggeration? Here’s what we can say is for real.
- Jonah Hill’s character Donnie Azoff is loosely based on Danny Porush. Belfort’s business partner and co-founder of Stratton Oakmont.
- Belfort did do a lot of drugs back then, and he also had a lot of other issues. He had a problem with cocain, Quaaludes and other substances.
- Matthew McConaughey’s character Mark Hanna was also a real person.
- Belfort and his fraudulent business helped inspire the 2000 film Boiler Room.
(Source: Slash Film)
Production Linked to Stolen Funds
According to the United States Justice Department, traces of money from the 1MBD fund has been traced to $1 billion worth of assets. Authorities have moved to seize assets allegedly acquired using the funds misappropriated from the Malaysian government.
Loretta Lynch, the US attorney general, said that the funds were defrauded from the Malaysian people. This was used to pay for luxury real estate in Europe and the United States, gambling expenses in Las Vegas, fancy interior decorators from London, more than $200 million worth of artwork by world-famous painters like Van Gogh and Monet, and the production of the Oscar-nominated film The Wolf of Wall Street.
Unfortunately and tragically, a number of corrupt officials treated this public trust as a personal bank account. The Department of Justice will not allow the American financial system to be used as a conduit for corruption. With this action, we are seeking to forfeit and recover funds that were intended to grow the Malaysian economy and support the Malaysian people. Instead, they were stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates. Corrupt officials around the world should make no mistake that we will be relentless in our efforts to deny them the proceeds of their crimes.
Lorreta Lynch, US Attorney General
(Source: The Guardian)