Hip-hop star Braz Michael, a former member of The Fugees, was found guilty in Washington on Wednesday of running an illegal influence campaign led by a Malaysian financier at the center of a major corruption scandal.
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The 50-year-old Haitian-American artist was found guilty of all charges against him after a weeks-long media trial with actor Leonardo DiCaprio on the witness stand.
Justice Department spokesman Harry Litzke said Michael was “a key player in a vast conspiracy involving senior government officials.”
Between 2012 and 2017, the hip-hop star allegedly received about $100 million from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB’s alleged mastermind of the scandal, Low Take Joe.
According to US officials, this large amount was used to contribute to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2012. While donations from abroad are prohibited in the United States, they are made through nominees and offshore organizations.
Mr. Brass was found guilty of conspiracy, forgery and forgery, and acting as an undercover agent of a foreign government. In a press release.
Brass Michael sought the extradition of Chinese dissident billionaire Guo Wengui in 2017 for engaging in illegal lobbying with Donald Trump’s administration on China’s behalf.
Guo Wengui, accused of defrauding thousands of investors to enrich himself, was arrested in New York in March for financial fraud.
The Malaysian businessman at the center of this huge scandal is Mr. Low was indicted in 2018 for corruption and money laundering in connection with the looting of 1MDB funds that were supposed to contribute to Malaysia’s economic growth. On the run, he may now be in China.
The financier, along with other individuals, was accused of using money from the fund to buy luxury apartments, yachts or works of art, and to surround himself with the music stars of cinema, notably by financing the movie “The Wolf.” Wall Street”, a 2013 film that earned Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar.
During the trial to the actor jurors Mr. Lowe described the decadent parties funded, and recalled that he had promised to “want to make a substantial donation to the Democratic Party,” saying, “20 to 30 million dollars . I said+ wow, that’s a lot of money . . .”
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