The Kleptocrats: Movie review

The 1MDB scandal is arguably one of the largest money heist in Malaysia, if not the world.

It all began with Jho Low, his course mate Riza Aziz (stepson of former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak) and subsequently Najib Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor and a number of prominent figures such as Middle Eastern royalty as well as Hollywood celebrities.

Penang-born Jho Low was a mysterious man at large, throwing extravagant parties in the States.

His guest list included Jamie Foxx, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio, Miranda Kerr and more among others.

Bottles of champagne, gambling chips and other luxury gifts like jewellery and original art pieces are some of the millions of dollars spent.

The 1MDB fund was meant for the economic development for Malaysia but the funds were misappropriated.

Real estate in big cities around the world, a Bombadier jet as well as a luxury yacht were also some of the expenditure occurred.

The Kleptocrats follows the trail of IMDB with exclusive footage and interviews with people close to the issue.

Najib Razak’s estranged brother, Nazir Razak speaks about his brother’s involvement.

Cartoonist Zunar shared how his cartoons offended the government at that time and his works of art were seized.

Journalists from New York Times, Hollywood Reporter and Wall Street Journal investigates the 1MDB scandal, revealing leaked messages and emails.

Writer of Billion Dollar Whale Tom Wright also spoke about the issue and what he uncovered from his own digging.

A young Malaysian student speaks about what she felt regarding the situation, joins the Bersih rally and was imprisoned for two days.

The storytelling and pace of the documentary is engaging and revealing.

Things that you do not know about 1MDB make sense when you watch the documentary.

Not everything could be included into the film but it has enough ‘meat’ to keep you going.

Jho Low is still at large at the moment so it is only just the beginning.