Leonardo DiCaprio urged to step down from UN climate change role
Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the British Academy of Film and Arts (BAFTA) awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London. PHOTO: REUTERS
Leonardo DiCaprio has been urged to step down from his role as a United Nations campaigner on climate change.
Bruno Manser Funds, a rainforest charity, urged the Oscar winner to either renounce his role as UN Messenger of Peace or hand back funds contributed to his film, The Wolf of Wall Street, allegedly received from the multi-billion dollar development fund called 1MDB.
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The director of the environment charity which has a particular focus on deforestation in Malaysia, Lukas Straumann, told the Hollywood Reporter, “If DiCaprio is unwilling to come clean, we ask him to step down as UN Messenger for Peace for climate change.”
Earlier this year, US prosecutors tried seizing more than $1 billion in assets they said were tied to money stolen from the Malaysian state fund, overseen by the prime minister, and used to finance “The Wolf of Wall Street” film and to buy property and works of art. The Malaysian PM, Razak’s stepson, Riza Aziz is listed as a producer on the movie – which was about unrestrained greed of a group of unscrupulous bankers.
The investigation was the largest set of cases brought by the US Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which seeks the forfeiture of the proceeds of foreign corruption. The previous largest case in February sought to seize $850 million.
It comes as DiCaprio is due to release his documentary on climate change, Before the Flood, after its UK premiere in London on Friday. In the film, DiCaprio interviews individuals from every facet of society, in both developing and developed nations, who provide their views on what must be done today – and in the future – to transition our economic and political systems into environmentally-friendly institutions.
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“Climate change is the most fundamental threat facing our planet,” said DiCaprio, regarding the film. “We must work together as a collective voice to demand major action now as our survival depends on it. This documentary translates the symptoms and solutions of climate change before information is distorted, as it often is, by those with a financial interest in fossil fuel production.”
This article originally appeared on Independent.