The rights for the film have been obtained by SK Global, the company behind “Crazy Rich Asians” which starred Yeoh and became a runaway success for weeks.

“Billion Dollar Whale”, written by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, documents the 1MDB scandal and the role of fugitive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, who is accused of embezzling billions of dollars from the state fund.

“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,” the Reporter quoted SK Global president John Penotti as saying.

“We are very proud to be associated with this project and anticipate moving forward very quickly to production.”