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On Monday (April 3), Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand against Fugees member Pras Michel, who’s accused of involvement in a campaign-finance conspiracy scheme with Malaysian business tycoon Jho Low. DiCaprio, who testified to a grand jury, is not accused of any wrongdoing, while Michel and Low Michel are both facing charges in the U.S. Low remains at large while Pras is present for the trial.
According to CNN, DiCaprio recounted that he and Low were introduced via former Malaysian prime minister Najib Raza around 2010 at Low’s birthday party in Las Vegas. During their introduction, DiCaprio said he was fond of Low, being “sort of a prodigy in the business world and ultra-successful.”
DiCaprio claims that Low contributed to charitable efforts, the actor revealing that Low regularly participated in auctions to “to bring in funds” for his foundation. A firm connected to Low also allegedly helped fund DiCaprio’s 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese.
The actor said that during a conversation with Low about U.S. politics, the 41-year-old proposed making a “significant contribution” to the Democratic Party prior to the 2012 presidential election. When Low reportedly named an amount between $20 and $30 million, DiCaprio told the court, “I basically said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money.’”
The Don’t Look Up star went on to detail that he met Michel in the 1990s during a Fugees concert. When asked to identify the Haitian-American artist in court, Michel leaned back in his seat and waved at the actor.
In a recent Rolling Stone profile, Michel gave his perspective on the legal ordeal. “I was one of those people who was just dabbling. I never thought I would be full time into politics,” he said. “I realized politics is not for me. The problem with politics is this: It’s that the people within politics, they’re dirtier than the people who are not in politics.”
Michel has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy and witness tampering. If convicted, Michel faces up to 22 years in prison.
