1MDB case: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian investigated by the FBI
TWO Hollywood celebrities, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kim Kardashian have been questioned by the United States Internal Revenue Service (US) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) regarding the embezzlement of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds.
According to a Bloomberg Businessweek report , in April 2018, DiCaprio, who is very famous through the movie Titanic , told an agent about his relationship with businessman, Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, which started in a nightclub.
DiCaprio said he was told that Jho Low’s money came from an unknown ‘richest individual’ in Abu Dhabi.
Jho Low is described as a ‘business expert’.
The report also said that Jho Low’s relationship with DiCaprio and other celebrities received attention when the prosecutor prepared for the trial involving the member of the hip hop group, Fugees, Prakazrel ‘Pras’ Michél.
Michél has been accused of bringing in foreign money to the campaign of former US President Barack Obama as well as lobbying on behalf of Jho Low and the Chinese government.
Among the list of potential Michél witnesses listed are DiCaprio, Obama, former US president Donald Trump and hotelier Steve Wynn.
Bloomberg Businessweek’s review of previously undisclosed FBI documents offers a more detailed accounting of the deal and shows how federal agents coerced celebrities and their handlers for information related to Jho Low.
For example, in February 2019, Kardashian told the FBI her meeting with Jho Low and partying in Las Vegas with the businessman gave her then-fiancé, Kris Humphries, US$100,000 (RM447,550) for fireworks for their 2011 wedding.
Bloomberg Businessweek also reported that representatives of DiCaprio and Kim however refused to comment further. Kim also told about the unusual money transfer.
According to an FBI interview summary, Kim and others including Wolf of Wall Street co-producers Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland were at a casino in Las Vegas with Jho Low.
