Cha-ching. Per Deadline, House of Cards creator and showrunner Beau Willimon is making a TV series about Jho Low, the man accused of masterminding one of the biggest financial heists in the world — a theft estimated at $5 billion. The show will be based on Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope’s book Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World, which centers on the Malaysian businessman and his alleged role in the 1MDB money-laundering scandal. Reportedly, Low used some of those funds to buy his ex-girlfriend Miranda Kerr diamonds that the model later had to return. Beyond companies like Goldman Sachs, he also had connections to the entertainment industry, somewhat ironically financing Martin Scorsese’s movie The Wolf of Wall Street.Â
Playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) will write and executive produce the TV adaptation, with Michelle Yeoh also serving as a producer. Meanwhile, Willimon will team up with his Westward producing partner Jordan Tappis and Crazy Rich Asians co-financier SK Global to develop the project. In a statement, Willimon and Tappis said their company is “drawn to stories that reflect the complexity of the times we live in, centering on enigmatic and surprising characters.†Currently, Low remains an international fugitive, and is said to be under investigation by authorities in several countries, including the U.S. Department of Justice. We wonder if he’ll be watching.