Keynote with Tom Wright: Investigating “the Brazen”
Investigative journalist Tom Wright details the global web of corruption behind the 1MDB scandal, revealing how billions were looted from a Malaysian state fund with the aid of elite banks, shell companies, and celebrity enablers. He warns that weak enforcement and absent accountability leave the system vulnerable to the next scandal.
- Keynote Speaker: Tom Wright, Co-Founder of Project Brazen; co-author of the bestseller, Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World; Former Wall Street Journal Asia Economics Editor
- Moderator: Anat Admati, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Key Takeaways:
1MDB as Global Fraud Blueprint: Tom Wright described the 1MDB scandal as the largest fraud in modern history, engineered by Malaysian financier Jho Low with billions stolen via a state-backed fund and enabled by global financial institutions.
Goldman Sachs’s Central Role: Goldman Sachs raised billions for 1MDB, collecting $600 million in fees. While two bankers were prosecuted, Wright argued senior executives knew about the fraud and profited from it.
Enabler Ecosystem: A vast network of banks, law firms, private equity firms, shell companies, and even luxury brands helped move and launder stolen money under the guise of legitimacy.
Weaponized Glamour: Jho Low used stolen funds to buy access and influence, financing the hit movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, gifting Picassos and cars to celebrities, and dating Miranda Kerr, to whom he gave a transparent grand piano the DOJ couldn’t repossess.
Accountability Gap: Despite record fines, including $7 billion from Goldman, few senior figures faced serious consequences. Wright warned that without C-suite convictions, there’s little deterrent for future fraud.
FCPA Enforcement in Retreat: Wright criticized the Trump administration’s effective suspension of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and dismantling of the DOJ’s Kleptocracy Initiative, calling it catastrophic for anti-corruption efforts.
China’s Involvement: Jho Low fled to China, where he remains under protection, partly due to his role in brokering Belt and Road deals that helped China gain influence in Malaysia during the fallout.
Post-Scandal Fallout: Malaysia is still paying interest on the fraudulent bonds, despite recovering some stolen assets through settlements and DOJ forfeitures.
Celebrity Complicity and Ambiguity: Celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Swizz Beatz accepted lavish gifts and money, with Wright arguing that willful blindness, or casual acceptance of shady wealth, remains a moral issue, even if not always a legal one.
Fat Leonard Scandal Parallel: Wright also explored the Fat Leonard U.S. Navy bribery scandal, highlighting similar patterns of institutional corruption, kompromat, and selective enforcement.
Journalism to Production: Through Project Brazen, Wright now produces investigative podcasts and media projects, with Billion Dollar Whale and Fat Leonard both in development for TV and film.