Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has testified in the trial of ex-Fugees rapper Pras Michel, who is accused of accepting money from a fugitive tycoon to influence US politicians.
The 50-year-old rapper allegedly received more than $100m (£80m) from Malaysian billionaire Jho Low, however, he denies a slew of charges, including conspiracy and witness tampering.
Now DiCaprio, who is not accused of misconduct in the case, was asked to testify about his links to Low. He is alleged to have stolen billions from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund in the 1MDB scheme, the biggest embezzlement case in history.
Michel and Low are both facing charges in the case, but only Michel is appearing in court. Low is currently at large, and believed to be in China.
Now in his testimony, DiCaprio told jurors he first met Low at a party in Las Vegas in 2010. In subsequent years, he attended a multitude of lavish parties on yachts and nightclubs at Low’s invitation, alongside other celebrities, actors, and musicians.
On one occasion, DiCaprio attended a New Year’s Eve party in Australia with Low, after which partygoers were flown to the US in an effort to celebrate New Year’s twice.
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The actor’s 2013 film Wolf of Wall Street – about a notorious fraudster – was partially funded by a firm tied to Low.
“I understood him to be a huge businessman with many connections,” DiCaprio said in court. “He was a prodigy in the business world and ultra-successful.”
Bloomberg previously reported that Low was “especially generous” with DiCaprio and donated a $3.2m work of art by Picasso to his charity, in addition to a $9.2m piece from Jean-Michel Basquiat. DiCaprio reportedly later turned those items and others received from Low over to authorities.
The actor said that Low also actively participated in auctions held by DiCaprio in St Tropez “to bring in funds” for his environmentally focused foundation.
Later in their relationship, DiCaprio said the two men began discussing US politics, with Low expressing an interest in making a “significant contribution” of between $20m and $30m to the Democratic party ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
“I basically said, ‘wow, that’s a lot of money’,” DiCaprio said. Authorities believe those funds were embezzled from 1MDB.
DiCaprio did not accuse Michel of wrongdoing in his testimony. He said that he first met Michel in the 1990s following a Fugees concert.
In 2019, DiCaprio reportedly testified before a grand jury in Washington DC as part of the justice department’s investigation into the 1MDB scheme.
DiCaprio told jurors that he lost contact with Low around 2015 after being informed that he was under investigation for his financial dealings.
