Malaysia scandal turns as US indicts financier Jho Low and American rapper Prakazrel Michel for illegal foreign funding in 2012 US presidential election
The United States’ Department of Justice (DoJ) has leveled election conspiracy charges against a fugitive Malaysian financier and an American rapper, the latest twist in the globe-spanning multi-billion dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal.
Unsealed on May 10, the indictment claims Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, directed the transfer of approximately US$21.6 million into accounts controlled by music mogul Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, some of which allegedly went to campaign contributions for the 2012 US presidential election in violation of US law.
Low, a close associate of then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, and Michel, a founding member of the 1990’s Fugees hip hop group, both face charges of conspiracy to defraud the US government by making and channeling illegal foreign campaign contributions. Michel has also been charged with scheming to conceal material facts and making a false entry in a record in connection with the alleged conspiracy.
The pair reputedly masked the source of foreign money by funneling it through more than a dozen “straw donors” who made legal contributions in their own names, according to the indictment, which said Michel and Low hoped to “buy access to, and potentially influence with a candidate, the candidate’s campaign and the candidate’s administration.”
Nile Bowie is a writer and journalist with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
The United States’ Department of Justice (DoJ) has leveled election conspiracy charges against a fugitive Malaysian financier and an American rapper, the latest twist in the globe-spanning multi-billion dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal.
Unsealed on May 10, the indictment claims Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, directed the transfer of approximately US$21.6 million into accounts controlled by music mogul Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, some of which allegedly went to campaign contributions for the 2012 US presidential election in violation of US law.
Low, a close associate of then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, and Michel, a founding member of the 1990’s Fugees hip hop group, both face charges of conspiracy to defraud the US government by making and channeling illegal foreign campaign contributions. Michel has also been charged with scheming to conceal material facts and making a false entry in a record in connection with the alleged conspiracy.
The pair reputedly masked the source of foreign money by funneling it through more than a dozen “straw donors” who made legal contributions in their own names, according to the indictment, which said Michel and Low hoped to “buy access to, and potentially influence with a candidate, the candidate’s campaign and the candidate’s administration.”
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