Jimmy Lai paid Paul Wolfowitz US$75,000 for help in Myanmar

Leaked documents show Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying paid former US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz US$75,000 for his help with projects in Myanmar.

According to a July 22, 2013, remittance notice by the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, Wolfowitz received the money from Lai as "compensation for services in regards to Myanmar".

Neither man could be reached for comment yesterday, but Lai, speaking on a radio show, said he did not rely on US government officials to conduct his business.

Wolfowitz and Lai have been friends since the latter became chairman of the US Taiwan Business Council in 2008, an aide to Lai said before the leak.

It remains unclear what services the former World Bank president provided to Lai. Wolfowitz continues to head the US Taiwan Business Council and is a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington DC. 

Wolfowitz's visit to Myanmar raised eyebrows last year, as he was a senior member of the George W Bush administration, which referred to military-led Myanmar as an "outpost of tyranny" in 2005. He served as deputy secretary of defense from 2001 to 2005.

Lai and Wolfowitz met members of Myanmar's government, including President Thein Sein, armed forces commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other high-ranking members of the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's military.