Celebrities: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Foundation Fumble

Leonardo DiCaprio may be known for his recently-won Best Actor Oscar and his tireless work for the environment, but it looks like he may have to deal with a problem that has more to do with him than with the state of the planet.

In a recent article published by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), DICaprio’s foundation was tagged as the beneficiary of financial donations embezzled from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund called 1MDB. The embezzlement drama is big news in Southeast Asia, involving Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz, his associates Jho Low, and Tan Kim Loong, and is now currently being investigated by the United States Justice Department. The Hollywood Reporter is calling it the “planet’s largest embezzlement case”, as it involves an amount of $3 billion

According to THR, the Academy Award-winning actor’s Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) received millions of dollars from the 1MDB fund. This is in addition to the money from the 1MDB fund that went into producing DiCaprio’s lauded film, The Wolf of Wall Street. THR also pointed out LDF’s lack of transparency, as its status as a donor-advised fund does not require it to file itemized public disclosures about its financial dealings.

The report certainly casts a shadow on the Hollywood star know as much for his advocacy as much as for his acting. Rather than be a legitimate organization helping the planet, THR paints a damning picture of the LDF as “freewheeling bacchanals” where guests “dine on whole sea bass after watching a short film on the dangers of overfishing”.

THR also emphasized DiCaprio’s relationship with Low, who has been known for such extravagant gimmicks such as sending Lindsay Lohan 23 bottles of Cristal during her 23^rd birthday. Aside from funneling $238 million dollars from the 1MDB fund to produce The Wolf of Wall Street, Low also brought DiCaprio along on an $11 million gambling bender in Las Vegas, as well as putting up $600,000 to get DiCaprio Marlon Brando’s Oscar statuette for On the Waterfront. The media outlet even brought up DiCaprio’s pasts with other shady personalities that have ended up in prison, like investment adviser Dana Giacchetto and art dealer Helly Namad.

DiCaprio has not yet responded to the article, but already another environmental organization has taken him to task for taking supposedly dirty money. The Bruno Manser Fund has called on DiCaprio to pay back all the funds the actor allegedly received from Low. Lukas Straumann, the executive director of the fund, called on DiCaprio to be a “role model” and to “be an example on how he handles his role.”

Where do you guys stand on this? Do you think Leo should be taken to task for his admittedly tangential involvement in this embezzlement case? Share your thought with us below!