Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified in federal court in a trial involving international money laundering, bribery and a prominent rap artist.
Prakajarel ‘Pras’ Michael, a founding member of the band ‘Fugees’, has been accused of taking money from a fugitive Malaysian ‘financier’ for Barack Obama’s 2012 election campaign.
Prosecutors said five years later he tried to block an investigation into the same “financier” under former President Donald Trump’s administration. In this case, Lo Taek Joh is under the scanner. He is accused of being the main conspirator in an international money laundering and bribery case that stole billions from the Malaysian state investment fund. This case is also called 1MDB.
DiCaprio’s involvement in the case stems from his relationship with Lo. It primarily funded DiCaprio’s film The Wolf of Wall Street. Lo is currently a declared fugitive but has denied all charges against him.
DiCaprio testified Monday that he met and befriended Lo at a birthday party in Las Vegas in 2010. He said, ‘I thought he was a big industrialist, who had a lot of recognition in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia.’ The Oscar-winning actor looked calm during his testimony.
DiCaprio stated that he had known defendant Michele since the 1990s when they met at a Fugitives concert. On Lo becoming his financier, DiCaprio said that the ‘funding’ and legality were carefully vetted before a business relationship was formed.
He said, ‘My team and my studio approved it. He was a business man who wanted to invest in the film.
