PETALING JAYA: A Fugees rapper being tried in a case linked to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, was trying to reinvent himself as he entered the political arena, not break any laws, his lawyer told a court in Washington yesterday.
Defence lawyer David Kenner said Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, who rose to fame in the 1990s as part of hip-hop sensation The Fugees, was looking for his next chapter after the group’s breakup.
According to Associated Press, Kenner said Michel had surrounded himself with people to help him transition to politics, and eventually “entered the orbit” of Low, but did not engage in “James Bond cloak and dagger stuff”.
“There was no agreement to do anything in an unlawful way,” Kenner was quoted as saying.
Michel is accused of profiting from an alleged embezzlement scheme masterminded by Low, as well as from a Chinese government influence campaign aimed at repatriating dissident Guo Wengui.
He faces 11 criminal counts for what prosecutors said were three separate lobbying schemes to influence the administrations of then-presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Michel has denied the allegations.
The Fugees won two Grammy Awards for their best-selling 1996 album “The Score.” But, by 2012, prosecutors said, Michel was in dire need of cash.
Prosecutors said Michel agreed to funnel about US$2 million from Low into Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and hide the source of the funds. Federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to US campaigns.
They said Michel later waged an illegal influence campaign to persuade the Trump administration to back off its investigation into Low.
Michel and other co-conspirators are also accused of lobbying the Trump administration at China’s behest to return Guo to China.
The prosecutors said Michel was paid US$70 million for his work. - FMT
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