Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio has played plenty of lawbreakers and covert operatives in his movies, but did you know that DiCaprio secretly testified to a federal grand jury?
In 2019, DiCaprio provided confidential testimony before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., in connection with the Justice Department’s extensive investigation into a multibillion-dollar fraud involving a Malaysian government investment fund, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Grand jury proceedings are confidential, so it remains unclear what specific information DiCaprio provided to the jurors and how authorities managed to bring him in and out of the federal courthouse without attracting notice. Representatives from both the Justice Department and DiCaprio have declined to comment. However, in previous statements, DiCaprio’s spokesperson indicated that the actor was fully cooperating with the investigation and was “entirely supportive of all efforts to assure that justice is done in this matter.”
DiCaprio’s testimony marks a significant development in a case that has implicated a diverse array of high-profile individuals, including a former member of the musical group the Fugees, a former Prime Minister of Malaysia, and a prominent fundraiser for President Trump. Prosecutors view DiCaprio as a key witness capable of offering valuable information regarding a Malaysian financier, Low Taek Jho, who is accused of embezzling and laundering billions of dollars from the investment fund and subsequently orchestrating a lobbying campaign to terminate the investigation. It is important to note that DiCaprio is not a target of this probe.
Low Taek Jho, a businessman with close relationships with high-ranking government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, faced charges in federal court in New York late last year related to theft and money laundering. He is believed to be residing in China. Prosecutors have also pursued related cases involving former Goldman Sachs bankers accused of money laundering and a Justice Department employee who confessed to assisting Low’s lobbying campaign.
Prosecutors have asserted that Low cultivated a relationship with DiCaprio, allowing the actor to gamble at the Venetian casino in Las Vegas on Low’s account, gifting him artwork, and assisting in financing the film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” DiCaprio was introduced to Low by Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz, the stepson of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has been charged in Malaysia in connection with the scandal. In 2016, prosecutors sought to seize assets, including proceeds from the film, alleging that it was partially funded with misappropriated money funneled to a production company co-founded by the stepson of the former Malaysian Prime Minister. DiCaprio had publicly acknowledged Low by name when accepting a Golden Globe for his role in the film. Subsequently, prosecutors moved to confiscate a Picasso painting gifted to DiCaprio, which they claimed was purchased with $3.2 million of stolen funds. A spokesperson for DiCaprio previously stated that the actor had initiated the process of transferring the painting to the U.S. government.
In recent court documents, prosecutors alleged that former Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel played a role in establishing accounts to facilitate payments for Low’s lobbying campaign aimed at terminating the investigation. Michel, acting as an intermediary for Low, allegedly engaged the owner of an investment firm to lobby the Trump administration. Sources indicate that the investment firm owner in question is Elliott Broidy, a seasoned Republican fundraiser who played a key role in mobilizing significant donors for Trump’s presidential campaign. While neither Broidy nor Michel has been formally charged, investigators are continuing to examine potential legal violations. The lobbying effort, as stated by prosecutors, ultimately failed. Michel has denied any wrongdoing, and Broidy’s attorney has refrained from commenting on the court documents that describe his client’s lobbying activities, noting that the papers do not mention Broidy by name.
The case, referred to as “1MDB” after the investment fund at the center of the allegations, has been marked by the involvement of numerous high-profile individuals, with DiCaprio being one of the most prominent figures thus far.
