Late last month, Pras Michel of Fugees was found guilty of 10 counts of money laundering, campaign finance violations, acting as an unregistered agent for China, concealment and false record-keeping, witness tampering, and making false statements. But one thing he insists that he’s not guilty of is being an FBI informant, as was rumored due to some reporting of the trial that mentioned the rapper’s interactions with the law enforcement agency.
Speaking to a TMZ photographer over the weekend, Pras denied being an FBI informant. He compared his situation to Tekashi 69’s, the New York rapper who became infamous for testifying against the Nine Trey Bloods after using his association with the gang to increase his notoriety in hip-hop.
“Look, I was never in the past, present, or future an FBI or a CIA informant,” Pras said. “Never ever. If people want to check it out, look at the testimonies — they could see that all within the records, and all the DC courts. This is not a Tekashi 69 situation, respectfully. Because he admitted he was an informant, basically. So I was never. I never said I was. I am not now and never will be an FBI or a CIA informant.”
Pras faces 20 years in prison now that he has been convicted. The charges against him stemmed from an investigation into Malaysian financier Jho Low, who was accused of stealing billions from his home country’s sovereign wealth fund. Pras was accused of making political donations on Low’s behalf — which is illegal — and helping him set up bank accounts to hide his ill-gotten riches.