A film company run by Riza Aziz, the son of the prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor, has threatened to sue veteran British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown over the latter's article on the source of the 37-year-old's wealth.
 
New York-based entertainment website Buzzfeed.com reports that lawyers for Red Granite Pictures had sent Brown a five page letter demanding that she retracts the article and compel other media outlets who wrote about her piece to do the same.
 
The letter had described Brown's article as "irresponsible, shoddy, malicious screed that was clearly concocted by a writer or writers (and/or editor or editors) intent on pressing a transparent, political agenda."

Among others, the lawyers had also claimed that the article had done the following to hurt the reputation of their client:

  • That Red Granite Pictures is financed by Riza
  • That the film The Wolf of Wall Street was financed by ill-gotten wealth
  • By insinuating that Red Granite Pictures is owned by Jho Low
  • By insinuating that Red Granite Pictures is a Malaysian company
  • By insinuating that Red Granite Pictures allowed director Martin Scorsese to make an x-rated film

Brown had shared the contents of the letter with Buzzfeed.com but has not official responded on the whistleblower website that she runs, Sarawak Report .
 
Her article had questioned how Riza managed to transition from a banker into the financial backers of big budget Hollywood films such as The Wolf of Wall Street and could own a USD33.5 million home in a glitzy part of New York.
 
The article noted that Riza had a respectable career as an investment banker after graduating from the London School of Economics in 1999, but questioned whether that was enough to explain his current wealth.
 
One theory offered by Brown was that Riza might have connections with Jho Low, a flamboyant Penangite who is famous for partying with Hollywood A-list actors and is described by the US media as a billionaire.
 
Riza is the Rosmah's eldest son from her marriage with Abdul Aziz Nong Chik. In 1987, she married Najib Abdul Razak, then the Umno Youth chief.