if that s the good-sounding explanation, you know the bad-sounding explanation must be really bad. sure enough, a few months later, the united states department of justice filed a 250-page complaint alleging that that $700 million cash that turned up mysteriously in the personal bank account of the malaysian prime minister, that was just a fraction of the proceeds of a gigantic heist. a giant act of thievery, a corruption scheme, in which the prime minister and his family and his associates stole billions of dollars from the malaysian government. reporter: 4.5 billion they stole in cash from the malaysian government. some of it they just stacked up in bank accounts, but mostly they laundered it all over the world, including in the united states, which is why the u.s. justice department brought the case even though the money was stolen from the people of malaysia. and the list of stuff that they spent the stolen money on is a ridiculous list of stuff. the prime minister s family and
stolen from the people of malaysia. and the list of stuff that they spent the stolen money on is a ridiculous list of stuff. the prime minister s family and friends bought penthouses in new york city, mansions in beverly hills, they bought yachts, yes, yachts, barry white style and otherwise. they bought picasso paintings. they did a lot of gambling. the prime minister s wife mysteriously ended up with a lot of ridiculous jewelry. the prime minister s step-son used a bunch of the money to finance some hollywood movies, including the wolf of wall street, daddy s home and dumb and dumber 2 through a company called red granite pictures. you c u.s. justice department said that was the money laundering vehicle for the money stolen by the prime minister, his family and their associates. and yes, that s sort of a bonkers list of things to spend money on, particularly if you