Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday made a devastating accusation against renowned American actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Giving no evidence, the controversial Head of State claimed DiCaprio paid out money for the Amazon Forest to be set on fire.
"This Leonardo DiCaprio is a cool guy, right? Giving money to torch the Amazon, " the president said as quoted by BBC.
Law enforcement authorities embarked on a series of arrests in the wake of the unsubstantiated claims.
A raid was conducted on two non-profit organisations.
In a statement to members of the press, the Holywood actor and environmental activist denied the accusations, adding that the organisations named by the Brazilian President had not received any support from him.
"While worthy of support, we did not fund the organisations targeted," the statement read in part as quoted by Aljazeera.
"The future of these irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake and I am proud to stand with the groups protecting them," DiCaprio added.
The actor's organisation Earth Alliance had pledged $5 million to help save the Amazon forest.
The money was supposed to be shared by local organisations and communities living in the important forest.
Among those arrested by the police are four volunteer firefighters accused of igniting the Amazon fires.
The New YorkTimes termed the accusation against the American actor as false.