Leonardo DiCaprio Takes Stand In A Trial Against Fugee Member Accused Of Stealing Millions

MaryKate Kreuger: April 4th, 2023

Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand as the first witness in former ‘Fugees’ member, Pras Michel, trial this past Monday.

Pras Michel has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, which Jho Low, a Malaysian financier, led.

In DiCaprio’s testimony, he expressed his relationship with Low. There was potentially a bid by prosecutors for DiCaprio to open up about Low using stolen money to win favor with US actors, politicians, and public figures.

In his testimony, DiCaprio claims that he had a conversation with Michel in 2012 about the upcoming Presidential election. Michel told DiCaprio that “he, or he and a group, were going to make a significant contribution to the Democratic Party.” He later noted that the donation was somewhere between $20 million and $30 billion. 

Prosecutors alleged that this fund was stolen from the Malaysians. Specifically, prosecutors accuse Michel of funding the donations through multiple straw donors. 

According to CNN,  Low laundered money from 1MDB through a Los Angeles-based movie production company, Red Granite Pictures. 

Red Granite Pictures allegedly used some of the laundered money to fund films, one of which includes ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ where DiCaprio took the leading role.

DiCaprio testified that he stopped talking to Low in 2015 when rumors began circulating that Low was using illegal funding from Malaysia and many other places. Then in 2016, prosecutors looked into the stolen funds used in both ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and a Picasso painting gifted to DiCaprio.

DiCaprio’s spokesperson claimed that DiCaprio is working with US prosecutors to return any funds or charities stolen from Malaysia.