Leonardo DiCaprio has testified before a U.S. grand jury in recent months as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into a fraud case surrounding a Malaysian government investment fund, according to the Washington Post.
The Post writes that DiCaprio appeared in front of a grand jury in Washington D.C. because prosecutors consider him a witness who can provide useful insights into the actions of Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, who was charged with committing fraud against an investment fund to the tune of billions of dollars.
According to the Post, DiCaprio is not a target of the Justice Department’s probe.
Representatives for DiCaprio declined to comment. A representative for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to request for comment. Reps for DiCaprio previously stated that he was “entirely supportive of all efforts to assure that justice is done in this matter” and was cooperating with the probe.
In December of 2018, TheWrap reported that DiCaprio handed over an Oscar that was awarded to Marlon Brando — a gift that was given to him by Low — to federal authorities.
Prosecutors say that Low and the former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak were among those who siphoned billions from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a fund meant to benefit projects that would service the Malaysian public. Instead, prosecutors say the men spent the money on lavish items and gifts, including artwork, jets, yachts and Brando’s Oscar for “On the Waterfront.”
Low had helped to finance DiCaprio’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” with the illegally obtained funds via a production label called Red Granite Pictures, prosecutors said.
In 2016, prosecutors moved to seize gifts given to DiCaprio by Low. DiCaprio relinquished all the gifts given to him, including the Oscar and a painting by Pablo Picasso that he had stored in Switzerland.