Malaysian actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and SK Global’s Ivanhoe Pictures, the company that co-financed and co-produced Warner Bros’ box office hit “Crazy Rich Asians” will be teaming up to produce the movie version of hot-selling novel “Billion Dollar Whale” written by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope.
Michelle Yeoh who recently inked her deal with Ivanhoe has obtained the film rights to the recently released non-fiction exposé “Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World” which follows Malaysian businessman Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind Malaysia’s shocking 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) money-laundering scandal.
“Tom and Bradley have crafted a thoroughly compelling telling of this unbelievable story. While certainly a daring work of investigative journalism, the narrative thread and eclectic characters that they so diligently chronicle make the book read like a thrilling and engrossing novel. We are very proud to be associated with this project and anticipate moving forward very quickly to production,” SK Global president John Penotti said in a statement.
The case is still currently under investigation by authorities in Malaysia, Singapore, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Low right now remains an international fugitive. The theft, estimated at $5 billion – ranks among the biggest cases of fraud in history, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
While we await for the film to begin production, check out our picks for the potential actors that could play Jho Low!
