WASHINGTON – Former top Republican fund raiser Elliott Broidy gave federal jurors an inside account of how he and Grammy-winning rapper Pras Michel reaped payouts from a Malaysian tycoon to lobby then US President Donald Trump’s administration to help end a federal investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

At Michel’s criminal trial in Washington, Broidy testified on Tuesday about how the musician assembled a team in 2017 to get the US Justice Department to drop its civil probe of financier Jho Low, who is accused of embezzling billions of dollars from Malaysian development fund 1MDB. Using Low’s money, Michel paid Broidy to use his connections in the Trump administration in “hopes of helping to resolve the 1MDB matter”, the former fund raiser said.

Broidy, who is a crucial government witness, confirmed that he, Michel and others agreed to use influence on behalf of Low, a Malaysian. Broidy pleaded guilty in October 2020 to conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) and was pardoned by Trump weeks later. 

On cross-examination, Broidy confirmed he did not discuss the requirement to register as a foreign agent with Michel or Low and did not receive legal advice about Fara until he was being investigated.

Michel, a member of the hip-hop group the Fugees, is accused of illegally lobbying on Low’s behalf and acting as an unregistered agent of China in pushing Trump’s administration to extradite Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, a vocal critic of Beijing. Michel is also accused of funnelling Low’s illegal donations into the 2012 campaign of former US president Barack Obama.

Broidy, a Los Angeles money manager, was one of three top fund raisers for Trump in 2016 when he joined Low’s plot to cash in on his connections. Low paid US$8 million to Broidy and promised as much as US$75 million more if he succeeded in persuading the Justice Department to walk away from its civil forfeiture case against 1MDB. Broidy paid a portion to Nickie Lum Davis, a Hawaii businesswoman, who also pleaded guilty to the scheme.

During his testimony, Broidy said Davis, who was friends with Michel, approached him with the 1MDB “business opportunity”. Broidy described Davis as the “intermediary” between him, Michel and Low. He said the group met Low in Bangkok to discuss the 1MDB matter and financial compensation. 

As part of his secretive lobbying effort, Broidy said he unsuccessfully tried to set up a golf game between Trump and then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. When Broidy struggled to lock down a date, he said he came under pressure from Davis. “I believed Mr Low was pressuring Mr Michel, who was pressuring Nickie, who was pressuring me,” Broidy said. 

The back-channel efforts failed. Low was indicted in 2018 on charges of conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB. Low is a fugitive believed to be in China. 

Steve Wynn

Meanwhile, Broidy was trying to use his connections to tap into another business opportunity – the extradition of Guo. “Nickie said they might throw us a bone,” Broidy testified. The group met then Chinese vice-minister Sun Lijun, but Broidy said he was unsuccessful in arranging meetings for the vice-minister with US officials. Broidy said he turned to casino magnate Steve Wynn for help because of his ties to Trump. 

Broidy and Wynn were on a boat when Wynn called Trump on speakerphone and asked him about Guo’s potential extradition status, Broidy said. He heard Trump say “they were working on it,” he told the jury. In 2022, Wynn persuaded a US judge to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to force him to register as a foreign agent acting for China.

Michel’s defence attorneys have denied the government’s allegations, explaining that their client forged international relationships, like the one with Low, to win investments for entertainment projects that promote black capitalism. They argued that Michel was acting in “America’s best interests” when he advocated for Guo’s return in exchange for American hostages and that he was unaware of requirements to register as a foreign agent.

On cross-examination, Michel’s attorney David Kenner also questioned Broidy about his plea agreement and pardon as well as meetings he had with Michel, whom the fund raiser described as quiet. BLOOMBERG