Fugees member Pras Michel and Malaysian businessman Jho Low had been accused of money laundering a year ago and were brought in for about a billion-dollar scheme which they were later found not guilty of. It has now come into the news that Catch Me If You Can star Leonardo DiCaprio has come forward to testify against the two and their alleged crimes.
The actor testified back in 2019 against the scheme that supposedly helped fund the hit movie The Wolf Of Wall Street directed by Michael Scorsese. Sources now state that he might be once again subpoenaed to bear witness to Pras’ trial due to begin on 4th November 2022.
Leonardo DiCaprio Once Again Gets Dragged Into Michel Pras’ Case
Rapper Pras Michel, 49, who was a member of the Fugees, was connected to Jho Low, 40, a Malaysian businessman who is now wanted for allegedly stealing billions from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, a state-run economic development fund in Malaysia.
For his assistance in helping Low, who is well-known for his celebrity connections, in the plan, Michel is said to have collected between $8 million and $40 million. Three former employees of the Trump White House, including former chief of staff John Kelly, ex-deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, and ex-national security adviser H.R. McMaster, are also included as witnesses. In 2019, Pras was also accused of assisting Low in defrauding the US authorities by transferring more than $21 million in foreign currency. According to The Washington Post, he is accused of hiding nearly $1 million of the funds by using 20 contributors to donate to Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.
The prosecutors had conveyed in court documents that Michel and Low had also engaged in covert lobbying on behalf of the Chinese government to persuade members of the Trump administration to remove a wealthy Chinese dissident from the United States. Although the exile has not been mentioned by the prosecution in court documents, Guo Wengui has been named as the sought-after dissident by those acquainted with the inquiry.
When Pras Michel contributed to the $100,000,000 budget for The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio unintentionally became involved in the scam.
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Leonardo DiCaprio Steps Forward To Help
According to sources, the actor himself came up to the authorities to report and has been cooperative ever since. He had complied with every request they had made including giving back any donations that were received by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation from the accused.
The trials are yet to begin and the actor is set to testify against Pras Michel and the money laundering that he has been accused of. Being dragged back into the case, DiCaprio would have to reopen doors that had previously been closed to help the law.
Source: Radar
