Leonardo DiCaprio testifies before D.C. grand jury as part of U.S. probe into Malaysian corruption

By Matt Zapotosky January 4 at 2:49 PM

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio made a secret appearance before a D.C. grand jury in recent months to testify as part of the Justice Department’s expansive investigation into a multibillion dollar fraud surrounding a Malaysian government investment fund, according to people familiar with the case.

The furtive appearance by the A-list celebrity is the latest twist in a case that has drawn in a medley of characters — including a rapper who was once part of the Fugees, Malaysia’s former prime minister and a prominent fundraiser for President Trump.

Prosecutors consider DiCaprio a witness who can provide useful insights about a swashbuckling Malaysian financier alleged to have pilfered and laundered billions of dollars from the investment fund, and then financed a lobbying campaign to end the investigation, the people said. DiCaprio is not a target of the probe, they emphasized.

The financier, Low Taek Jho, was charged in federal court in New York late last year in connection with the theft and money laundering. Prosecutors have pursued related cases into ex-Goldman Sachs bankers they say were involved in laundering money and a Justice Department employee who admitted to helping the lobbying campaign.

It is unclear exactly what DiCaprio told grand jurors, or how authorities were able to get him in and out of the federal courthouse without anyone noticing.

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