Leonardo DiCaprio Reportedly Will Testify Against Pras Michel's Money Laundering Trial
American actor and producer who emerged in the 1990s as one of Hollywood's leading performers, noted for his portrayals of unconventional and complex characters Leonardo DiCaprio is set to be among the list of witness at the upcoming trial of Fugees member Pras Michel, according to reports.
In 2019, the Justice Department charged Fugees rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel and Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, for allegedly conspiring to funnel more than $21 million in illegal foreign campaign contributions into former President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign. Michel pleaded not guilty to the charges, while Low's rep also denied wrongdoing by his client, per E! News.
In June 2021, they were both hit with additional charges, indicted for allegedly "orchestrating an unregistered, back-channel campaign" to influence the the administration of then-President Donald Trump to drop a federal investigation of Low and others over the embezzlement of money from 1MDB, a Malaysian development fund. Michel has also denied wrongdoing in this matter, and awaits trial. Low remains at large and is believed to be in China.
DiCaprio's rep said in 2017 that the actor had recently begun proceedings to transfer ownership of the Picasso to the U.S. government and that he also returned Brando's Oscar, Reuters reported. In addition, Low's rep issued an emailed statement, saying the Justice Department was continuing its "inappropriate efforts" to seize assets and that its recent activity marked a "further example of global overreach in pursuit of a deeply flawed case," the outlet said.
In 2018, federal prosecutors charged Low for conspiracy to commit money laundering, bribery and circumvention of accounting controls for allegedly masterminding the embezzlement of $4.5 billion from 1MBD.
The same year, Red Granite reached an agreement with prosecutors to pay $60 million to the U.S. government in order to resolve allegations that it profited from the corruption scandal, Variety reported, adding that under the deal, it did not admit to any wrongdoing.
Also in 2018, DiCaprio gave secret testimony to a Washington, D.C. grand jury to testify as part of the Justice Department's investigation into the scandal, people familiar with the case told the Washington Post, adding the actor was not a target of the probe.
On Oct. 9, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a proposed witness list in connection with the case. DiCaprio, who had ties to Low, is the 25th person on it. E! News has reached out to DiCaprio's rep and has not heard back. Michel's attorney declined to comment.
Michel is set to stand trial from November 4 in Washington, DC, accused of illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of the Chinese government and illegally giving contributions to the Obama administration before it.
Earlier this year, speculation circled that Fugees cancelled their 25th anniversary tour celebrating second album ‘The Score’ not due to COVID concerns, as originally stated, but Michel’s ongoing legal issues.
In November, Fugees member Pras Michel will officially stand trial for his part in the 1 Malaysian Development Berhad embezzlement scheme. With the involvement of several high-profile figures across multiple countries and occupations, the 1MDB had its money systematically stolen to fund several different projects, all under the supervision of Malaysian businessman Jho Low, according to Far Out Magazine.
Pras partially used his embezzled money to contribute financially to the 2012 re-election campaign of former president Barack Obama. Another prominent beneficiary of the scheme was Red Granite Pictures, the American film production company that helped fund Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.
With that connection in place, lead actor and Wolf of Wall Street co-producer Leonardo DiCaprio has been named as one of the witnesses set to testify against Michel at his upcoming trial. DiCaprio had previously cooperated with the federal investigation and testified during the initial trial investigations back in 2019.
DiCaprio might be the most high-profile witness testifying at the trial, but he’s certainly not the only one. Among the 72 other called witnesses are former Trump White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, former deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger, and former national security advisor H.R. McMaster. Also set to testify in former RNC Finance Chairman Elliott Broidy, who was famously pardoned by former president Donald Trump in 2021.
As Mxdwn reported, The case claims that Pras allegedly conspired against the American government through fraud, that he made illegal foreign campaign contributions, that he illegally concealed material facts, and that he made a false entry in a record relating to conspiracy. Pras is accused of allegedly funneling money for Jho Low, a Malaysian citizen, who is well known in Hollywood for holding high profile parties. Jho Low’s location is currently unknown by law enforcement, while the businessman remains internationally wanted after the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, involving the embezzlement of billions of state-investment funds.
Among the witnesses set to appear at the upcoming trial will be the famed actor Leonardo DiCaprio, whose movie The Wolf of Wall Street may have been partially financed by Jho Low.
The prosecution has argued that Jho Low allegedly sent the Fugees rapper over $100 million in order to illegally influence the 2012 presidential election. In 2012, the funds were allegedly intended to support the re-election of Barack Obama. Later, the funds were allegedly intended to influence the administration of Donald Trump to end the Department of Justice’s investigation into Jho Low’s activities. The prosecution also alleges that Pras attempted to influence Donald Trump’s administration to have a Chinese dissident to be sent back to China; with the rapper allegedly working on behalf of the Chinese government.
Sources: E! News, Far Out Magazine, Mxdwn, NME. Variety, Reuters, Washington Post,
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