US accuses Fugees rapper Pras Michel of illegal lobbying with 1MDB fugitive Jho Low, China

Prosecutors said Michel was paid US$70 million to funnel money from Low through straw donors to Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and influence Trump to return dissident Guo Wengui to China

They also told jurors the case will highlight ‘political intrigue, back room dealings … burner phones and lies’

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Rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel arrives for his trial at US District Court in Washington on March 30. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:21am, 31 Mar 2023

A federal prosecutor on Thursday accused Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of The Fugees hip hop group of illegally taking tens of millions of dollars to lobby the US government on behalf of a Malaysian financier and the Chinese government.

The accusations were made at the start of a trial that prosecutor Nicole Lockhart said will link Michel to financier Jho Low, who is suspected of embezzling US$4.5 billion from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, and a Chinese government influence campaign aimed at repatriating dissident Guo Wengui.

Michel is being tried on 11 criminal counts including various conspiracy charges for what prosecutors said were three separate lobbying schemes to influence the administrations of former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Michel has denied the allegations.

“This is a case about foreign money, influence and concealment,” Lockhart said during her opening statement in Washington on Thursday.

Lockhart told jurors the case will highlight “political intrigue, back room dealings … burner phones and lies.”

The Fugees won two Grammy awards for their bestselling 1996 album The Score. But by 2012, prosecutors said, Michel was in dire need of cash, and he found a solution to his problem through Low, who was known to pay Hollywood celebrities to party with him.