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Hollywood biggie Leonardo DiCaprio has been a vocal environmentalist for years now. The actor now has found himself on suspicious grounds and is in the eye of the storm as we speak. As per the latest and shocking development, Leo’s non-profit organization has allegedly provided grants to a dark money group that then funneled the same to a law firm that filed lawsuits against oil companies alleging climate change deception.
Yes, you read that right. For the unversed, dark money is technically referred to the funds that are provided by non-profit organizations on the agreement of keeping their identities anonymous. This money is then used to change the course of political decision. It is a common illegal practice and the allegations of it have now reached the beloved Titanic star DiCaprio.
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As per a Fox News reports, a major Philanthropist, Dan Emmett and a climate change professor Ann Carlson at the University Of California, collaborated with the law from named Sher Edling in order to sue oil companies for allegedly releasing inaccurate information about their impact on environment.
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The said portal has found email conversations between the two where they discussed asking for help from Chuck Savitt, the law firm’s director of strategic client relationships. Later Savitt told Emmett that they have already received support from Terry Tamminen. Now the catch is that Terry was the then-CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.
“Wanted to let you know that we filed the first three lawsuits supported by the Collective Action Fund on Monday,” Chuck Savitt told Dan Emmett in an email. “These precedent setting cases call on 37 of the world’s leading fossil fuel companies to take responsibility for the devastating damage sea level rise — caused by their greenhouse gas emissions — is having on coastal communities.”
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Two months post the emails were exchanged, Leonardo DiCaprio’s foundation announced that they would allocate $20 Million in grants to various climate change groups. This also included Resources Legacy Fund, to support the legal procedures against the fossil fuel industry.
As per the same reports, more than $5.2 Million were contributed to Sher Edling by Resources Legacy Fund between 3017 to 2020. There is no clear record of who donated to the group or how much of this was Leonardo DiCaprio’s contribution.
“From 2017 to 2020, Sher Edling received grants from RLF to pursue charitable activities to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the accuracy of information they had disseminated to consumers and the public about the role their products played in causing climate change,” Resources Legacy Fund spokesman Mark Kleinman said. “RLF receives support from many funding entities, and its board of directors and staff make all decisions as to where the funding goes.”
Leonardo DiCaprio is yet to give a clarification about this. Till then, stay tuned to Koimoi for more.
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