‘How do rich or connected people bumble into these things?’: Fans Blast Leonardo DiCaprio as Titanic Star Finds Himself in the Centre of Michel Pras’ Money Laundering Trial
Leonardo DiCaprio is a subject of a new set of headlines and surprisingly it’s neither about his under-25 dating rule nor his alleged relationship with Gigi Hadid. The Revolutionary Road actor finds himself fighting allegations of a different sort of connection this time, a connection that can spell trouble for him, even land him behind bars.
Rapper and actor Pras Michel is currently facing federal money laundering charges, and 72 potential witnesses have been listed by the government. Leonardo DiCaprio is the most notable name on the list of witnesses.
A big list of 72 witnesses for Pras Michel’s money laundering case
The charges against the Fugees alum claim that the rapper took part in a multi-billion-dollar money laundering scheme. He allegedly helped Malaysian businessman, Jho Low embezzle money from the Malaysian government and got an amount between $8 million and $40 million for his services. Michel pleaded not guilty in 2019.
The government filing was obtained by Politico’s Playbook on Saturday and it revealed big names in the list of 72 individuals. Apart from the Shutter Island actor, there are political names, especially Trump staffers like former chief of staff John Kelly, former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, and former national security advisor H.R. McMaster.
And here’s another one along the lines of the Barrack trial—only with a Hollywood cast! This one's got Leonardo DiCaprio. https://t.co/gkud2HLLcB
— Vicky Ward (@VickyPJWard) October 11, 2022
DiCaprio is supposedly a prime witness to an alleged conspiracy of accepting money from the 1MDB fund and financing the 2013 Scorsese film, The Wolf of Wall Street, for which DiCaprio was both the lead actor and one of the producers.
Leonardo DiCaprio was also made to testify as a witness for the debacle surrounding The Wolf of Wall Street, back in 2019.
Leonardo DiCaprio was a witness in the Pras Michel Case years ago
CNN had reported back then that The Great Gatsby actor, as soon as he learned about the alleged conspiracy, reached out to the Department of Justice, to help out in the investigation in whatever way possible. DiCaprio’s spokesman had stated at the time that the Department was continually investigating
“to determine whether he or his foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, ever received any gifts or charitable donations directly or indirectly related to these parties, and if so, to return those gifts or donations as soon as possible. Both Mr. DiCaprio and LDF continue to be entirely supportive of all efforts to assure that justice is done in this matter. Mr. DiCaprio is grateful for the lead and instruction of the government on how to accomplish this.”
While DiCaprio has been technically involved in the case since 2019, the news didn’t break out with full force until recently, with the revelation of the witness list. And when the news did break out, it was a hard pill to swallow for most fans. Some couldn’t understand how the big names couldn’t be more careful with their agreements and money matters, despite having proper lawyers to take diligent care of their paperwork.
https://twitter.com/Sheer_Light/status/1579632212483637250
I love headlines that just get more unbelievable as they go on.
— 808s & Fast Breaks 🏀 (@bkosal) October 12, 2022
this is hella random
— 🍉 (@navyplush) October 12, 2022
This is a wild wild news story https://t.co/HCQdbu1WDH
— Stylie And The Family (@djwyliestylieee) October 13, 2022
While it seems most likely from DiCaprio’s former statements and actions in face of the allegations that he was not involved in the controversy, only the court can give clear answers to the public. The trial is going to begin on 4th November in Washington D.C.
Source: Radar
