A Swiss rainforest charity, called the Bruno Manser Fund, has requested Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio to explain his alleged ties to a multibillion-dollar Malaysian 1MDB scandal or step down from his position as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
“Leonardo DiCaprio has consistently refused to explain his close personal and financial ties with key persons of the Malaysian 1MDB scandal, this is unacceptable.” said Lukas Straumann, Director of Bruno Manser Fund, in a statement.
The 1MDB scandal is an ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of billions of dollars through a fund called 1 Malaysia Development Berhad. The state-owned fund was the brainchild of Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is among the businesses alleged to have received some of the embezzled funds through donations made by key persons connected to the case. Moreover, 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street – a movie about fraud, is believed to have been largely funded by money from the 1MDB scandal via Red Granite Productions, co-founded by Najib Razak’s stepson, Riza Aziz.
Meanwhile, DiCaprio’s new documentary about global warming, Before the Flood, premiered in the UK on Friday.
The actor was appointed to his U.N. role in 2014 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said DiCaprio was ‘a credible voice in the environmental movement’. DiCaprio has voiced his opinions about Climate change at many public events including his Oscar acceptance speech this year. He has produced the documentary Before the Flood, which features him as well as other personalities like Barack Obama, Pope Francis and John Kerry among others.
