KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — A former rapper, Pras Michel, is expected to be charged by US Federal prosecutors today over campaign-finance violations to President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, which was said to have originated from Jho Low.
According to a Bloomberg report, two people briefed on the matter said that Michel will be charged in Washington, US, of contributing funds to pro-Obama organisations without disclosing its foreign origin, specifically from Jho Low.
One of the people was reported to have said that at least one other individual could be charged in relation to the case.
“The charges, as described, are an outgrowth of a sprawling Justice Department investigation into fraud and corruption at 1MDB, a wealth fund that was intended to promote economic development in Malaysia.
“It was instead treated like a massive slush fund by Jho Low, an adviser to Malaysia’s then-prime minister, Najib Razak,” the report quoted US prosecutors.
Bloomberg reported that the Washington prosecutors are leading the probe into how the funds from 1MDB were used to influence government officials, as a former Justice Department (DOJ) employee had last November pleaded guilty to one charge of bank fraud conspiracy in setting up bank accounts that allowed Low to pay for lobbying activities in Washington.
“That charge was related to conduct that occurred in 2017. That case referred to a "Co-conspirator A,” whose description matched that of Michel, a former member of the Fugees rap group.
“Jho Low was referred to as “Co-conspirator B.” The charges expected to be filed Friday concerning earlier activities, from 2012,” the report stated.
Quoting Low’s spokesman, the fugitive financier, who was already charged by prosecutors in New York, was said to have never made any campaign contribution directly or otherwise to the US.
The investigations by the DOJ into Michel’s US$1million (RM4.1 million) donation during the US 2012 presidential re-election campaign was reported last November.
