KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — Founding member of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees Prakazrel “Pras” Michel is embroiled in a legal fight against the US government over a forfeiture complaint that he aided in the embezzlement of funds connected with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad investment firm.
The Washington Post reported that Michel — a known associate of Malaysian fugitive financier Low Taek Jho — applied through his lawyer yesterday to dismiss the complaint that is party of a larger Justice Department (DOJ) investigation.
He said the Justice Department failed to present sufficient allegations of bank fraud, conspiracy and false statements, or that the funds in the accounts the government wants to seize were proceeds of fraud. Pollack requested a hearing on his arguments.
The rapper has denied wrongdoing and last month claimed his name was being “dragged through the mud” and said, “I have never conspired to commit any crime, nor defraud any organisation, in this case or otherwise.”
The civil complaint last month claims Michel was engaged by Low’s brother, to move US$73 million (RM300 million) into the US in a bid to influence the US DOJ’s 1MDB probe.
Court documents reportedly allege that Michel worked with a former DOJ official named George Higginbotham to move the money into four American bank accounts and were planning to transfer the funds to an unidentified couple who would then lobby the DOJ to drop its criminal investigation into Low.
The DOJ is now trying to recover roughly US$38 million from Michel that they say can be connected to that effort.
Higginbotham pleaded guilty in November for his role in that lobbying, marking the first public acknowledgement of a secret attempt to pressure American officials to drop their probe of the fund known as 1MDB.
The 1MDB scandal is still ongoing, with officials from all over the world trying to recover money spent on diamond jewellery, high-end artwork, luxury art, property and more. More billions were spent on glitzy celebrity parties, ski trips and financing for The Wolf of Wall Street and other Hollywood productions.
Michel was featured in the book Billion Dollar Whale, authored by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope who had investigated the 1MDB scandal.
He, along with Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton and Swizz Beatz were among Low’s celebrity friends, partying with the latter on many occasions.
Malaysian officials are still looking for Low and his associates, as well as family members believed to have aided in his efforts to embezzle billions of ringgit from 1MDB.
