This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 30, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: American rapper Pras, who is a founding member of 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees, is fighting the US government over a multimillion-dollar forfeiture complaint concerning 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The report stated that Pras, whose real name is Prakazrel Samuel Michel (pic), faces allegations in a civil forfeiture claim that he aided a scheme to try to get the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to drop an investigation into the embezzlement from 1MDB.

The complaint states that Michel was engaged by the brother of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low, to join the illicit lobbying effort, and that Michel had helped by opening bank accounts under false pretenses to finance the scheme, AP reported.

The report added that the DoJ officials are trying to recover roughly US$38 million (RM156 million) from Michel that they say can be connected to that effort.

Barry Pollack, the rapper’s lawyer, had asked for the complaint to be dismissed.

AP reported that Pollack said that the DoJ had failed to present sufficient allegations of bank fraud, conspiracy and false statements, or that the funds in the accounts the government wants to seize were proceeds of fraud.

He then requested for a hearing on his arguments.

Meanwhile, Michel has denied any wrongdoing.

AP reported that a former DoJ official, George Higginbotham, pleaded guilty in November for his role in that lobbying, marking the first public acknowledgement of a secret attempt to pressure American officials to drop their probe into 1MDB.

Prosecutors say Higginbotham, who worked on the congressional affairs staff in the DoJ’s Office of Justice Programs, helped open bank accounts and created false loan documents for shell companies as part of the scheme, AP reported.