Actor Leonardo DiCaprio secretly testified to US grand jury about fugitive Jho Low and Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal
- Hollywood star has insights into Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, US prosecutors claim, but is not a target for prosecution
- Prosecutors say Low allowed DiCaprio to gamble on his tab, gave him art and helped get funding for the film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio made a secret appearance before a US District of Columbia grand jury in recent months to testify as part of the Justice Department’s expansive investigation into a multibillion-dollar fraud surrounding Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund, according to people familiar with the case.
The furtive appearance by the A-list celebrity is the latest twist in a case that has drawn in a medley of characters – including a rapper who was once part of the Fugees, Malaysia’s former prime minister and a prominent fundraiser for US President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors consider DiCaprio a witness who can provide useful insights about fugitive Low Taek Jho, the swashbuckling Malaysian financier alleged to have pilfered and laundered billions of dollars from the investment fund, and then financed a lobbying campaign to end the investigation, the people said. DiCaprio is not a target of the probe, they emphasised.
Low was charged in federal court in New York late last year in connection with the theft and money laundering.
Jho Low and the Wolf of Wall Street: how Malaysian businessman 'hooked up DiCaprio'
Prosecutors have pursued related cases into ex-Goldman Sachs bankers they say were involved in laundering money and a Justice Department employee who admitted to helping the lobbying campaign.