Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
There may have been more to the story regarding why The Fugees postponed their impending reunion tour.
Pras Michel, 1/3 of the beloved 90s hip-hop group, is currently facing legal troubles related to an indictment that may have impacted The Fugees’ plans to tour.
The indictment concerns Michel’s alleged involvement in the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, according to Consequence.
The FBI previously referred to the severity of matter as the “largest kleptocracy case to date.”
Authorities believe Michel attempted to help disgraced Malaysian businessman and Hollywood socialite Jho Low influence presidential campaigns and elections.
Jho Low is accused of stealing $4.5 billion from 1MDB’s wealth fund to support his personal social climbing and lifestyle.
The Malaysian fugitive formerly had ties to Leonardo DeCaprio, Paris Hilton, Megan Fox, and other A-list celebrities.
“The Justice Department demanded that Michel not leave the country, and The Fugees tour was eventually postponed after quiet negotiations over his bail conditions broke down,” according to Puck News.
The source added that Michel “attempted to covertly influence American officials on Low’s behalf, including funneling millions of dollars into Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign through various straw donors, and later trying to get Donald Trump to send a Chinese dissident—billionaire Guo Wengui—back to China.”
In January, The Fugees blamed COVID-19 for why their tour was postponed.
Pras Michel’s 1MDB Related Case
Michel is being represented by 80-year-old California-based attorney David Kenner, who Consequence says “famously helped Snoop Dogg beat his 1996 murder trial.”
“This case is following the trajectory of so many before it, where a case with multiple defendants features a lone black artist,” Kenner’s legal team reportedly penned in a dismissal motion filed earlier this month. “In this case, it works like this: the artist, who speaks for the poor and marginalized and who gives back to such communities in enormous ways, is the last man standing….”
Michel requests a return of the reported $40 million seized from him, and he is expected to appear in court in Washington D.C. on Nov. 4.
If The Fugees member is convicted, his sentence could be up to 20 years in prison.
