KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Red Granite Pictures, the financier of The Wolf of Wall Street movie, is in discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve one component of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) lawsuits, a U.S. news portal reported.

The Hollywood Reporter said federal prosecutors told a California federal judge on Tuesday that the U.S. government is "actively discussing a potential settlement" with Red Granite.

“If a deal is reached, the Trump Administration will resolve a key component of the largest ever targeting of alleged foreign corruption in an American court,” it added.

In July last year, U.S. federal authorities filed several civil forfeiture cases, aimed at seizing more than US$1 billion in assets tied to 1MDB.

The U.S. government alleged money was diverted by high-level officials in Malaysia into shell companies, and then into a wide variety of property, including Beverly Hills and New York City real estate, artwork by Van Gogh and Claude Monet, a Bombardier jet, and funding for Red Granite — run by CEO Riza Aziz.

The Hollywood Reporter said Red Granite has been due to respond to the U.S. government's forfeiture claim, but progress on a settlement has been enough that prosecutors have agreed to an extension. In court papers, the potential settlement is described as one "that would completely resolve this matter."

According to the report, if a settlement doesn't occur, Red Granite would likely argue that for whatever happened in Malaysia, it is an "innocent owner" of a film property and that it lacked knowledge of 1MDB transactions. That's the strategy currently being pursed by Riza in a fight to retain his real estate property, it said.

The DOJ has been reportedly eyeing criminal prosecution of Malaysian financier Jho Low, who has been described as an associate of Riza, with connections to celebrities like Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo DiCaprio as well. No charges have yet been filed and with a new political administration, it's possible that priorities have shifted at the DOJ, but a deal with Red Granite would presumably entail some cooperation, The Hollywood Reporter said. 

Meanwhile, the news portal also noted while The Wolf of Wall Street case has drawn to a standstill, the government's separate attempt to seize music publishing assets tied to Jho Low's family, is heating up.

The family had previously struggled to make a claim to music assets that include The Temptations' "My Girl", Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", and Police's "Every Breath You Take", because its interest in EMI Music Publishing was held through a trust called JW Nile (BVI) Ltd, and the former trustee was concerned about becoming involved in an ongoing criminal probe. However, that issue has now apparently been solved, the report said.