A COUNCILLOR from North Yorkshire has appeared in a new Hollywood documentary on a global financial scandal.
Former investment banker George Jabbour, who is now a North Yorkshire councillor, was interviewed for a film about a multi-billion-dollar corruption case that rocked Wall Street and Hollywood in the USA.
The documentary called 'MAN ON THE RUN' premiered in Covent Garden in London over the weekend. It uncovers the true story of a corrupt group of co-conspirators who exploited a development fund that was established to benefit the people of Malaysia.
Cineworld, Vue and other cinemas in the UK, US and other countries will be showing the film which relied in its production on access to individuals such as a former Prime Minister of Malaysia and North Yorkshire Councillor and former Goldman Sachs banker George Jabbour, who appears briefly in the documentary.
Councillor Jabbour, who had exposed several financial scandals before he was elected in North Yorkshire, said: “When I was approached to contribute to this documentary, I could not refuse the request of the team to help with such an important and worthwhile endeavour. In addition to providing insight from my professional experience in uncovering fraud and corruption, I agreed to be interviewed on camera.
“Exposing wrongdoing takes a lot of courage and conviction - and at times it could feel lonely. So, I would like to pay tribute to everyone who has played a role in uncovering this colossal scandal and to the producers of this highly-recommended film for telling the world what happened.”
A global investigation into the scandal uncovered a staggering amount of money being channelled into international bank accounts, the acquisition of a private jet and a yacht, excessive A-list celebrity parties and even the financing of the Hollywood blockbuster film 'The Wolf of Wall Street' starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Councillor Jabbour, who represents Helmsley and Sinnington, was named as one of the 40-under-40 rising stars in investment banking in the UK before he started his involvement in politics.
Earlier this year, councillor Jabbour was among four councillors from across North and East Yorkshire who attended a summer reception at Number 10 Downing Street in acknowledgement of their contribution to the local community.
He said that during the visit, he had expressed the community’s desire to see the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill passed into law.
“I also communicated the positive outcome that the successful £2 bus fare cap initiative has delivered on the ground in rural areas such as ours,” he said.
He was joined by Seamer’s North Yorkshire representative councillor Heather Phillips, Whitby’s councillor Phil Trumper and councillor Andy Paraskos, a divisional representative in Harrogate, for the visit.
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