The biggest corruption case in Malaysia for which even Leonardo DiCaprio has testified in an ongoing trial

It is one of the biggest embezzlement cases in the world and the biggest corruption scandal it has ever seen. Malaysia. In addition to bribery and money laundering, this story involves a 1990s hip hop star and even Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio. It is not a movie, but many of the protagonists must feel that they are living a horror thriller.

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The architect of the scandal is the Malaysian financial businessman Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low. He is accused of masterminding an international scheme that stole billions from 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad), a Malaysian state fund established in 2009 with the purported goal of increasing foreign investment to promote development in the country of the Southeast Asian.

According to the Spanish newspaper “El País”, suspicions of strange money transactions from the fund began in 2015 and even involved the then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who, after being accused of using hundreds of millions of public funds to finance his campaign for re-election and paying politicians, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020. Razak always claimed to have been deceived by Low.

According to the US Department of Justice, more than $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund. Of that sum, $1 billion was spent by Low.

The names of celebrities began to appear in 2016, after the US authorities announced a judicial offensive to recover millions of dollars of Malaysian public funds diverted from 1MDB by Low, whose fall from grace is irrefutable: today he is an international fugitive .

The Malaysian businessman used the money to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and hobnobbing with celebrities. Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio became the first star witness to take the stand in connection with this case on Monday the 3rd. Specifically, he testified in New York at the trial of former rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, who is accused of participating in a global campaign finance scheme led by Low.

Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel (Pras) Fugees, who is facing criminal charges in an alleged illegal lobbying campaign, arrives for opening arguments in his trial at the United States District Court in Washington, United States, on last March 30. (Photo: Reuters) (KEVIN LAMARQUE/)

Michel is a founding member of the 1990s hip hop group The Fugees, known for hits like “Ready or Not” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song.”

DiCaprio said he met Michel backstage after a Fugees concert sometime in the 1990s. The actor testified in the case primarily because of his ties to Low, whom he befriended at a Las Vegas birthday party in the 2010.

Parties, movies and eccentricities

Before living on the run, Low led a lavish lifestyle. In addition to buying luxurious properties in Manhattan and Hollywood, he used to throw lavish parties packed with celebrities from around the world, including Michel, and group vacations on his private jet for events like the World Cup in Brazil.

DiCaprio told the jury what the parties, financed by Low with money allegedly looted from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, were like. He recounted one particular trip where they flew from Australia to the United States on a private plane to celebrate New Year’s Eve twice in one day. Michel was present on some of these trips, DiCaprio said.

Low gave the “Titanic” star gifts, including a Picasso painting valued at $3.2 million and a Jean-Michel Basquiat collage valued at $9.2 million. The businessman has also been a regular donor to DiCaprio’s charitable foundation. The actor, who has returned all the gifts received, is not accused of any crime.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio testifies in the trial of rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel. (Reuters) (BILL HENNESSY /)

The Malaysian was even one of the main financiers of the Martin Scorsese film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, a 2013 film starring DiCaprio.

“My team and the studios gave me the green light to accept Low’s financing,” DiCaprio said. “That means the background check was fine and they considered you a legitimate businessman.”

influence US policy?

Specifically, Michel is accused of funneling Low’s stolen millions through high-profile donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

Justice accuses Low of having tried to influence the United States government. According to the prosecutors’ indictment, from June to November 2012, Low ordered the transfer of more than $21.6 million from foreign entities to Michel’s accounts to funnel money toward the 2012 presidential election.

Authorities say Michel then paid off about 20 fake donors and conduits so they could make the donations in their names and hide where the money really came from.

Other witnesses testified that Michel had approached them about making hidden contributions to the Obama campaign. Richard Kromica, an investment banker, said Michel told him she had reached her legal contribution limit and asked Kromica and her husband Joseph to make a donation on her behalf. Kromica said Michel sent the couple $80,000 to donate.

DiCaprio recalled an “informal conversation” with Low in which Low told him that he intended to make a large contribution to Obama’s re-election campaign.

“It was a significant figure, something like 20 or 30 million dollars,” he testified. “I said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money!’”

Source: Elcomercio