The case of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB is unusually large and involves some out-of-the-ordinary assets NEW YORK — The US government may become a movie and music industry player, at least temporarily, after moving to seize $1bn in assets that prosecutors said were bought with money looted from the Malaysian state development fund.The 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street and an interest in the rights of EMI Music Publishing are among the targets of civil lawsuits filled with allegations that Malaysian officials, their relatives and associates laundered the fund’s money and hid it in property, artwork and luxury goods in the US.Seizures of assets by government authorities are fairly common, but they more typically involve sports cars, yachts and jewellery bought with drug trafficking proceeds or with profits from white-collar crime.The case of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB announced on Wednesday is unusually large and involves some out-of-the-ordinary assets, suc...
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