Pras Michel filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on December 4, challenging his 14-year federal prison sentence tied to a sprawling foreign influence and money laundering case involving Malaysian businessman Jho Low and the 1MDB scandal.
The Fugees rapper, whose legal team is led by attorney Peter Zeidenberg, is seeking to overturn the 168-month sentence handed down on November 24 after a Washington jury convicted him in April 2023 on 10 counts, including conspiracy, illegal foreign lobbying, witness tampering and money laundering. Federal prosecutors accused Michel of accepting more than $100 million from Low to sway U.S. political outcomes and shield the fugitive financier from extradition. The Justice Department said Michel funneled foreign funds into Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign and later tried to influence the Trump administration to halt its probe into the 1MDB scandal.
The case spotlighted what prosecutors described as a “back-channel lobbying campaign” aimed at derailing U.S. investigations into the multibillion-dollar fraud surrounding Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.