Christophe Archambault
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has reportedly volunteered to hand over to authorities a $3.2 million Pablo Picasso painting and $9 million collage by Jean-Michel Basquiat at the center of an embezzlement investigation. A spokesman for DiCaprio was cited by Artnet News on Friday saying the actor had initiated the move by reaching out to the Justice Department last summer, when news first broke of an embezzlement scandal surrounding a Malaysian fund tied to the film production company behind The Wolf of Wall Street. Production company Red Granite is suspected of receiving illicit funds funneled out of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, or 1MDB, founded by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak. The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to forfeit $540 million in assets it says was illegally obtained using the embezzled funds. The list includes a Picasso painting and Basquiat collage, which were reportedly given to DiCaprio as a gift.