Leonardo DiCaprio is listed as a witness in the federal trial of Pras Michel, who is accused of partaking in a multi-billion-dollar money laundering scheme which helped fund DiCaprio’s film The Wolf of Wall Street.
DiCaprio, 47, previously testified in Washington DC in 2019 as a witness to the scheme that came to involve the 2013 blockbuster film he produced with Martin Scorsese.
Court documents show that DiCaprio may now be called on again to testify in Michel’s trial, which is due to begin on November 4.
Michel, 49, a rapper known for his involvement in the hip hop group Fugees, was tied to Jho Low, 40, the Malaysian businessman turned fugitive who allegedly embezzled billions from the Malaysian state run economic development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhard, commonly known as 1MDB.
Michel allegedly received between $8million and $40million for his role in assisting Low – who is known for his celebrity associations – in the scheme.
Others on the witness list include three Trump White House staffers – former chief of staff John Kelly, former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, and former national security advisor H.R. McMaster.
Leonardo DiCaprio is listed as a witness in the federal trial of Pras Michel, who is accused of partaking in a multi-billion-dollar money laundering scheme which helped fund DiCaprio’s film The Wolf of Wall Street
Michel, 49, a rapper known for his involvement in the hip hop group Fugees, was tied to conman billion-dollar conman Jho Low
Pras was also charged in 2019 with helping Low to defraud the US government by transferring over $21million of overseas funds.
Nearly $1million of those funds he allegedly funneled into Barack Obama’s 2012 election campaign through 20 donors to avoid detection, according to The Washington Post.
DiCaprio became unwittingly wrapped up in the scheme when Michel helped fund The Wolf of Wall Street’s $100,000,000 budget.
It is unclear how much money Michel provided for the film.
Jho Low, 40, is a Malaysian businessman turned fugitive who allegedly embezzled billions from the Malaysian state-run economic development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhard, commonly known as 1MDB
DiCaprio became unwittingly wrapped up in money laundering and embezzling scheme when Michel allegedly used illegal funds to helped produce the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street
When DiCaprio learned of the charges against Michel in 2019 through media reports, he immediately reached out to the Department of Justice to assist in the investigation, according to CNN.
A spokesperson for the actor said at the time that the actor was working with investigators ‘to determine whether he or his foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, ever received any gifts or charitable donations directly or indirectly related to these parties, and if so, to return those gifts or donations as soon as possible.’
‘Both Mr. DiCaprio and LDF continue to be entirely supportive of all efforts to assure that justice is done in this matter,’ the spokesperson continued. ‘Mr. DiCaprio is grateful for the lead and instruction of the government on how to accomplish this.’
Michel’s troubles deepened in June 2021, when he was charged with lobbying the Trump administration to drop the investigation into him and Low.
Including DiCaprio and the Trump officials, the US government’s witness list includes 72 individuals.
The investigation seemed to derail a planned Fugees reunion tour – while the band announced their tour was cancelled over COVID-19 precautions, Puck reported in August that it was actually disbanded because the Justice Department refused to let Michel travel abroad.
Pras Michel (left) pictured with his Fugees bandmates. Reports suggest his legal troubles forced the band to cancel their reunion tour
Others on the witness list include three Trump White House staffers – former chief of staff John Kelly and former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger
Though Low is also on trial with Michel, the billionaire conman will not be in the courtroom in D.C. as he whereabouts remain unclear.
The most recent reports suggest he is living feely in China, while many bemoan that the Malaysian government is doing next to nothing to find him.
‘He has complete free movement and nobody can mess with him, said Wall Street Journal reporter Bradley Hope in a YouTube video discussing the conman’s hiding. ‘No foreign countries can interfere with Jho Low while he is in China.’
‘Jho Low had helped with these deals, as a result he is somebody they [the Chinese government] have to protect. This is as simple as that,’ Hope said.
