While it welcomes Leonardo DiCaprio's undertaking to return funds or gifts given to him and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) that is linked to embezzled 1MDB funds, the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) wants the actor to do more.

"The standard of accountability is high on DiCaprio. He is a renowned Hollywood actor and the UN Ambassador for climate change and a prominent public figure," read the statement from C4 executive director Cynthia Gabriel and Stanley Sudhagaran.

C4 said that it is imperative for the actor to now disclose all his financial links and dealings with controversial financier Jho Low, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's filmmaker stepson Rizal Aziz, and the total money he has earned as gifts and payments from them during their friendship.

"He should also publicly condemn those involved in swindling billions of dollars belonging to the Malaysian taxpayers," the statement read.

C4 said that it would also be DiCaprio's moral obligations to get his accounts independently audited, as expected of public figures and leaders. As such, the actor cannot continue to say that he would limit his statement on the matter.

"We look forward to hearing further from the DiCarpio foundation on disclosure of their alleged linkages, over the 1MDB scandal, now seen as the largest kleptocracy case in recent times, both financial and otherwise," the governance watchdog added.

DiCaprio's statement on returning gifts and funds which is linked to embezzled 1MDB funds, was the actor's first public response to the global scandal involving the Malaysian sovereign fund.


Activists claimed that this was because of their successful campaign, public protests and pressure directed towards DiCaprio over the matter.

Billions have been said to have been stolen from 1MDB, much of the funds supposedly channeled to Jho Low and Riza, both of whom were named in a US Justice Department’s forfeiture suit, seeking to seize their assets, said to have been bought using cash purloined from the fund.