Steve Bannon

---

By Bernd Debusmann JrBBC News at the United States District Court for DC

Hollywood star Leonardo Dicaprio has testified In Court in Washington, DC, in the corruption trial of former Fugee Prakazrel " Pras" Michel.

Rapper Mr Michel, 50, is accused of taking money from a Malaysian tycoon, Jho Low , to carry out a political influence campaign in the US.

He denies charges including conspiracy and witness tampering.

Mr DiCaprio, 48, is not accused of wrongdoing and is appearing as A Witness .

Mr Low - who is currently a fugitive and believed to be in china - is a co-defendant in the case. Authorities believe The Financier used his vast resources to curry favour among celebrities including Mr DiCaprio and model Miranda Kerr .

In Court on Monday, a soft-spoken, bearded Mr DiCaprio - who described himself simply as " an actor" - Told jurors that 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.

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

The Actor 's 2013 film Wolf of Wall Street was partially funded by a firm tied to Mr Low .

" I understood him to be a huge businessman with many connections, " Mr DiCaprio said In Court . " He was a prodigy in The Business world. "

Bloomberg previously reported that Mr Low was " especially generous" with Mr DiCaprio and donated a $3. 2m (£2. 5m) 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.

On Monday, The Actor said that Mr Low also actively participated in auctions held by Mr DiCaprio in St. Tropez " to bring in funds" for his environmentally-focused foundation.

Later in their relationship, Mr DiCaprio said that the two men began discussing US politics, with Mr Low expressing an interest in making a " significant contribution" of between $20m and $30m to the Democratic Party ahead of 2012 presidential election.

" I basically said 'wow, that's a lot of money', " Mr DiCaprio said.

In 2019 Mr DiCaprio reportedly testified before a Grand Jury in Washington Dc as part of the justice department's investigation into the 1MDB scheme, the biggest embezzlement case in history. It saw Mr Low accused of stealing billions of dollars from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund.

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.

The Oscar-winner may not be the only celebrity to testify in Pras Michel's trial.

During Jury Selection , attorneys named actors including Jim Carrey , Jamie Foxx and Mark Wahlberg as possible witnesses, in addition to director Martin Scorsese , according to CNN.

The sprawling case could also see testimony from former high-level US government officials and political insiders, including Donald Trump 's former chief strategist Steve Bannon , and Rudy Giuliani , former mayor of New York and previously a lawyer for Mr Trump.

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com