MP links Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak-wing to UN bribery scandal in explosive speech
Chau, a major political donor who has denied wrongdoing, was named by MP Andrew Hastie as the unidentified co-conspirator in the bribery case that saw fellow billionaire Ng Lap-seng jailed in the US this month
A billionaire businessman previously accused of meddling in Australian politics on China’s behalf was co-conspirator in a plot to bribe a top United Nations official, a senior Australian politician has claimed.
Andrew Hastie, who chairs Canberra’s intelligence and security committee, used the legal protection of parliamentary privilege to say that Chinese-Australian Chau Chak Wing was a figure code-named CC-3 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“CC-3 is Dr Chau Chak Wing,” Hastie said in a speech on Tuesday evening, further fuelling fears about Chinese efforts to shape policy and opinion in democratic institutions.
“The same man who co-conspired to bribe the UN president of the General Assembly, John Ashe. The same man with extensive contacts in the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
“I share it with the house because I believe it to be in the national interest.”
Hastie’s allegation follows recent meetings with US intelligence and security agency officials, who he said confirmed the identity. He said the reasons CC-3 had not been charged were “best undisclosed”.