Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's stepson Riza Aziz - whose firm Red Granite Pictures produced the Oscar-nominated film The Wolf of Wall Street - was at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
He was present at the Permata International Conference. Riza's mother and Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor is the patron of Permata.
When Riza was spotted at the event, it set tongues wagging since he had been in the international media spotlight for the wrong reasons.
However, journalists, who were waiting to pounce on him for comments, were forced to retract their claws with disappointment as Riza left the venue midway during the prime minister's speech.
The international press, including The Wall Street Journal, had zoomed in on Riza's meteoric rise in Hollywood.
It had raised questions about the former accountant's source of funding.
WSJ claimed investigators in two countries believe US$155 million from troubled Malaysian state fund 1MDB ended up in Red Granite Pictures in 2012 through a circuitous route involving offshore companies.
Red Granite Pictures had stressed that its funding is from legitimate sources.
Riza also made news for acquiring luxury properties including a 7,700 sqft duplex in New York for US$33.5 million and a 11,000 sqft mansion in Los Angeles for US$17.5 million.
Reports claimed investigators believe the money used to purchase the two properties were from a further US$238 million originating from 1MDB transferred to an offshore company owned by Riza.
The Permata International Conference, which was officiated by Najib, also saw the attendance of his daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib and her husband Daniyar Nazarbayev, whose mother last year was embroiled in a controversyconcerning the purchase of luxury handbags in New York.-Mkini
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