Leonardo DiCaprio, a famous actor, appeared in court in Washington, DC, to testify in the corruption prosecution of Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, a former Fugee.
Musician Mr. Michel, 50, is charged with accepting funds from Malaysian businessman Jho Low to launch a US political influence operation.
He disputes accusations of conspiring and influencing witnesses.
The 48-year-old Mr. DiCaprio is testifying as a witness but is not being held accountable.
Co-defendant in the case is Mr. Low, who is now wanted for fugitive activity and is thought to be in China. According to authorities, the investor exploited his considerable resources to gain favor with famous people, including Mr. DiCaprio and model Miranda Kerr.
A grand jury in Washington, DC is said to have heard testimony from Mr. DiCaprio in 2019 as part of the justice department’s investigation into the 1MDB conspiracy, the largest embezzlement case in history. Mr. Low was charged with stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Mr. DiCaprio said the jury that he stopped communicating with Mr. Low in 2015 after learning that he was being looked into for his financial affairs.
The Oscar winner could not be the only famous person to give a witness in Pras Michel’s case.
According to CNN, counsel listed Martin Scorsese, Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, and Mark Wahlberg as potential witnesses during the jury selection process.
Former high-ranking US government officials and political insiders may also testify in the expansive case, including Steve Bannon, a former senior strategist for Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani, a former mayor of New York and a longtime Trump lawyer.
