This is according to DiCaprio's testimony during an ongoing federal trial in Washington, D.C. of musician Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of the prominent 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees. Michel is on trial for allegedly participating in a foreign influence campaign aimed at the Obama administration. (Related: Hunter Biden, other members of Biden family received MILLIONS from business associate linked to CCP.)
The financier in question is Jho Low, a Malaysian fugitive businessman currently wanted in his home country for allegedly embezzling a whopping $4.5 billion from Malaysia's state investment fund, 1MDB.
According to DiCaprio, Low casually commented on his plan to donate millions to the Democrats. When pressed, DiCaprio added that Low planned on giving a "significant donation" that was "somewhere to the tune of $20 to 30 million."
"I basically said, 'Wow, that's a lot of money,'" DiCaprio added.
While it is still unclear whether or not DiCaprio accepted Low's money, what is being alleged by prosecutors is that, after speaking with the actor, Low approached Michel as an alternative point person to funnel the money to Obama's re-election bid. Federal election law expressly prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly providing "contributions, donations, expenditures and disbursements" to federal, state or local political campaigns.
Michel allegedly received around $21.6 million in payments from foreign accounts linked to Low to lobby the government on the Malaysian businessman's behalf. Prosecutors alleged that the funding and lobbying efforts also benefited the Chinese government.
Michel paid out most of the money to roughly 20 straw donors from June to November 2012. These 20 or so donors were expected to contribute most of the money to the Obama campaign in their names so that the money wouldn't be traced back to Low.
Several other witnesses testified that Michel wired them thousands of dollars and asked them to make shadow donations to the campaign. The prosecutors alleged that Michel was paid $70 million for his assistance to Low.
Michel is currently facing 11 criminal counts of attempting to influence the administrations of Obama and former President Donald Trump. Prosecutors also alleged that Michel attempted to interfere with the investigation into Low's business dealings in the United States.
Low has strong ties with top Hollywood celebs
DiCaprio is just one of many prominent figures, including many Hollywood A-listers, with ties to Low, who is known to even go so far as to pay celebrities like DiCaprio to attend lavish parties with him on boats and at high-end nightclubs.
Despite the trial being about Michel, DiCaprio's testimony on Monday, April 3, was focused mostly on the actor's relationship with Low.
DiCaprio's testimony found that Low even supported the actor's philanthropic efforts as well as helped provide funding for his artistic pursuits. DiCaprio testified that Low helped fund his 2013 movie with director Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street," for which he and Scorsese were nominated for Academy Awards.
Low's involvement in the film even drew the attention of the Department of Justice, which reached a civil settlement with the film production company in 2018, during which the production house forfeited around $60 million that it received from Low and was believed to have been stolen from 1MDB.
Since then, DiCaprio has been freely cooperating with the federal government to expose the depth of Low's financial dealings with American elites, including politicians and their campaigns.
"I was given a green light from my team, as well as the studios, to accept financing from Mr. Low," DiCaprio testified.
Learn more about China's infiltration of the United States in CommunistChina.news.
Watch this episode of "China In Focus" discussing Leonardo DiCaprio's testimony regarding the China-linked financier who wanted to donate $30 million to Obama's 2012 presidential campaign.
This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com.
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