'Pras' Michel trial sees former Fugees rapper in court for vast 'influence scheme'

Music Music: In The News
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Prosecutors claim that ex-Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel took $100m (£81.4m) from a fugitive tycoon to generate favour with top US officials. Mr Michel, 50, is accused of taking the money from notorious Malaysian businessman Jho Low to carry out a “clandestine” influence campaign. He now faces a slew of charges including conspiracy and witness tampering,

The Grammy winner has denied any wilful wrongdoing.

The ex-musician, best known for his work on the Fugees’ best-selling 1996 album, is accused of bringing “secret, illegal foreign influence to bear” during the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump between 2012 and 2017.

According to US authorities, Mr Michel received over $100m (£80.8m) from Jho Low, the 41-year-old Malaysian businessman accused of stealing approximately $4bn from his country’s sovereign wealth fund during the 1MDB scandal, widely considered the world’s biggest financial crime.

Prosecutors believe that Mr Low hoped to use Mr Michel to help lobby officials in the administration of former President Donald Trump to abandon an investigation into Mr Low’s role in the 1MDB (1) scheme.

Mr Michel is also accused of taking money to help convince US government officials to allow the extradition of a vocal US-based dissident, Guo Wengui, back to China. For this, he stands accused of failing to register as a foreign agent - a crime under US law.

Mr Michel faces more than 20 years behind bars if convicted of the charges.

The sprawling case could see Hollywood celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio testify, alongside prominent former US government officials such as Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani.

During an opening statement on Monday, prosecutor Nicole Lockhart told jurors “The defendant wanted money and was willing to break any laws necessary to get paid.” Ms Lockhart said Mr Michel “was looking for other ways to be paid” after his music career fizzled following the Fugees’ enormous success in the 1990s.

The amount of money is astonishing - the revelations may be, too … :astonished:

(1) 1MDB: The playboys, PMs and partygoers around a global financial scandal - BBC News

Billions of dollars from a state fund meant to help the Malaysian people went missing, disappearing into the shadows of the global financial system.

According to US and Malaysian prosecutors, the money lined the pockets of a few powerful individuals and was used to buy luxury real estate, a private jet, Van Gogh and Monet artworks - and to finance a Hollywood blockbuster.

Outcry over the alleged looting of 1MDB has reverberated around the world, with authorities in at least six countries probing a vast web of financial transactions stretching from Swiss banks to island tax havens to the heart of South East Asia.

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What does this mean? What’s the illegal part?

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Mr Michel is also accused of taking money to help convince US government officials to allow the extradition of a vocal US-based dissident, Guo Wengui, back to China. For this, he stands accused of failing to register as a foreign agent - a crime under US law.

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Ahh! Thanks! :+1:

Sounds a bit like Michael Flynn, security advisor under Trump. He took foreign payments without registering as a foreign agent.

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Yes … very similar:

Flynn’s prosecution, they insisted, without evidence, was the result of a vast conspiracy by the FBI and US intelligence agencies to sabotage Trump’s presidential campaign and presidency. Trump pardoned Flynn in the final days of his presidency.

But while pleading guilty in 2017, Flynn also admitted to committing another crime: related to his acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government of Turkey without registering with the justice department as an agent of a foreign government, which was required by law.

Now, according to people familiar with the confidential findings of the recently completed IG investigation, the Guardian can reveal Flynn was warned years earlier that his acceptance of foreign money and his not registering as a foreign agent likely would be illegal.

Moreover, Flynn’s conduct occurred while he was a private citizen, long before Trump became president. Taken together, this appears to constitute powerful new evidence discrediting Trump and Flynn’s claims of political persecution by those opposed to Trump’s agenda.

The new disclosures portray how a former military officer, despite his training to obey rules and orders, was instead driven by personal profit to break the law.

As the article points out, Flynn was motivated by greed and Trump’s assertions of political interference were, as usual, sheer gobshite.

The scale of Michel’s greed outdoes Flynn, though … :astonished:

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OK, I’ll hold my hands up and admit that, as this was posted on 1st April and the headline was incomprehensible to me and the name of the businessman so reminiscent of JLo, I thought this was some kind of April Fool’s joke!

I’ve read the article a few times now and still can’t make sense of it - am I being dense?

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A different report may help:

Authorities claim ex-Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel used $100 million to attempt to influence high-ranking U.S. officials in a wide-ranging political conspiracy funded by a Malaysian fugitive who is accused of masterminding one of the world’s largest financial crimes.

Prosecutor Nicole Lockhart made the accusations during opening statements on Thursday as the trial against Michel, 50, began. The Grammy winner faces 11 criminal charges including conspiracy and witness tampering. Michel has denied the allegations against him.

“This is a case about foreign money, influence and concealment,” Ms. Lockhart told the Washington courtroom on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.

Authorities claim Michel was given more than $100 million by Malaysian financier Jho Low. Funds were allegedly used in an “unregistered backchannel campaign” in 2017 to influence President Donald Trump officials to drop an investigation into Low, 41 (also known as Low Taek Jho).

Low, who is currently an international fugitive, is suspected of embezzling $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, the Washington Post reports. It is believed to be one of the largest financial crimes ever recorded.

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Thanks for the extra info @Omah - I think I need to wait until after the weekend, when I have my “work head” on to understand this - I’m on my 2nd passionfruit martini tonight and none of it makes sense! :crazy_face:

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Mr DiCaprio, 48, who is not accused of wrongdoing in the case, was asked to testify about his links to Mr Low.

Mr DiCaprio - who described himself simply as “an actor” - told jurors he first met Mr Low at a party in Las Vegas in 2010.

In subsequent years, he attended “a multitude of lavish parties” on yachts and nightclubs at Mr Low’s invitation, alongside other celebrities, actors and musicians.

Mr Low’s parties also drew the likes of Alicia Keys, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Spears once jumped out of a cake to wish Mr Low a happy birthday.

On one occasion, Mr DiCaprio attended a New Year’s Eve party in Australia with Mr Low, after which party-goers were flown to the US in an effort to celebrate New Year’s twice.

The actor’s 2013 film Wolf of Wall Street - about a notorious fraudster - was partially funded by a firm tied to Mr Low.

Bloomberg previously reported that Mr Low was “especially generous” with Mr 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.

Mr DiCaprio reportedly later turned those items and others received from Mr Low over to authorities.

Mr DiCaprio told jurors that he lost contact with Mr Low around 2015 after being informed that he was under investigation for his financial dealings.

Another world … :open_mouth:

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Ex-Fugees musician Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has been found guilty of 10 counts, including corruption, stemming from allegations he used money to peddle influence in the US.

Michel, 50, was convicted in a Washington DC court of campaign finance violations, acting as an unregistered foreign agent, witness tampering and lying to banks.

While Michel acknowledged taking money from Malaysian billionaire Jho Low - including $20m to help him get a photo with Mr Obama - he said he had viewed the payments as “free money”.

Taking the stand in his own defence, Michel said he also felt “betrayed” by his advisers and employees who he claimed had offered him bad advice on how to handle money and avoid breaking the law.

He acknowledged, however, that it had been “stupid” to reach out to “friends” who were “getting visits” from the FBI about campaign contributions - an idea that led to his witness tampering charges.

Stupid indeed … :man_shrugging:

Sentence still to be passed.