Leonardo DiCaprio testified in the prosecution of ex-Fugees rapper Pras Michel, who is accused of taking money from a fugitive tycoon to influence US lawmakers.
Mr. Michel, age 50, allegedly received over $100 million (£80 million) from the Malaysian billionaire Jho Low.
He rejects numerous charges, including conspiracy and interfering with witnesses.
Mr. DiCaprio, 48, who is not accused of wrongdoing in the case, was compelled to testify regarding his connections to Mr. Low.
Mr. Low is accused of stealing billions from Malaysia’s national wealth fund through the 1MDB conspiracy, the world’s largest embezzlement operation.
According to federal authorities, Mr. Michel was compensated to exert “illegal, hidden foreign influence” on American politics.
Mr. Michel is suspected of making illegal contributions to the 2012 presidential campaign of Barack Obama, utilizing an illicit network of third parties paid with foreign monies.
Authorities say Mr. Low also intended to use Mr. Michel to urge Trump administration officials to end their investigation into his alleged role in the 1MDB fraud.
In this case, both Mr. Michel and Mr. Low are charged, but only Mr. Michel is present in court. Mr. Low is currently on the run and is presumed to be in China.
Several extravagant parties
According to the prosecution, the financier exploited his considerable resources to court favor with celebrities, including Mr. DiCaprio and model Miranda Kerr.
Mister Low’s gatherings have attracted celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears. Once, Spears leaped out of a birthday cake to wish Mr. Low a happy birthday.
Monday in court in Washington, DC, a soft-spoken, beard-sporting Mr. DiCaprio testified about his financial ties to Mr. Low.
Leonardo DiCaprio, who introduced himself simply as “an actor,” told the jury that he met Mr. Low for the first time in 2010 at a party in Las Vegas.
In succeeding years, he attended “a multiplicity of expensive parties” on boats and in nightclubs, along with other celebrities, actors, and artists, at Mr. Low’s request.
Mr. DiCaprio and Mr. Low once attended a New Year’s Eve party in Australia, following which partygoers were transported to the United States to celebrate New Year’s twice.
Wolf of Wall Street, a 2013 film starring an actor about a known con artist, was partially funded by a company associated with Mr. Low.
Mr. DiCaprio stated in court,
“I believed him to be a powerful businessman with a vast network.” “He was a business prodigy and incredibly successful.”
Many times, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly instructed the actor to “keep his voice up” so that the jury and court reporter could hear him.
Mr. Michel looked at the actor and waved when he was asked to identify himself in court by Mr. DiCaprio.
Bloomberg previously claimed that Mr. Low was “particularly generous” with Mr. DiCaprio, donating a $3.2 million Picasso and a $9.2 million Jean-Michel Basquiat to his organization.
Mr. DiCaprio gave up these and other items received from Mr. Low to authorities later on.
Monday, the actor stated that Mr. Low actively engaged in auctions hosted by Mr. DiCaprio in St. Tropez “to raise revenue” for his charity with an emphasis on the environment.
Later in their relationship, according to Mr. DiCaprio, the two men began discussing American politics, with Mr. Low indicating a desire to make a “major gift” of between $20 million and $30 million to the Democratic party before the 2012 presidential election.
Mr. DiCaprio stated,
“I exclaimed, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money’.” Officials suspect that these funds were misappropriated from 1MDB.
In his testimony, Mr. DiCaprio did not accuse Mr. Michel of misconduct.
He stated that he met Mr. Michel for the first time in the 1990s after a Fugees concert.
He said that Mr. Michel may have also attended a Thanksgiving celebration at his home, however, “memory does not serve” and he was unable to confirm this.
Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly testified before a grand jury in Washington, DC in 2019 as part of the investigation into the 1MDB scam by the Department of Justice.
Mr. DiCaprio told the jury that he lost communication with Mr. Low in 2015 after learning of the probe into his financial transactions.
The Oscar-winning actor may not be the only celebrity to testify in the trial of Pras Michel.
During jury selection, counsel identified celebrities Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and Mark Wahlberg, in addition to filmmaker Martin Scorsese, as potential witnesses, according to CNN.
Former high-ranking US government officials and political insiders, such as Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, and Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and Mr. Trump’s former attorney, might testify in the sprawling case.
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