Lawyer drops out of high-profile bribery case involving real estate mogul Ng Lap Seng
Benjamin Brafman withdrew as lawyer of Chinese multimillionaire Ng Lap Seng in UN bribery case, with a leading Asian-American lawyer now in charge
The American attorney Benjamin Brafman, known for taking high-profile cases, withdrew as lawyer of Ng Lap Seng, real estate mogul under investigation by the US authorities for allegedly bribing a top United Nations official. Hugh H Mo, a reputable Chinese-American lawyer, confirmed to the Post that he is now the millionaire’s lead counsel.
The lawyer, who was described as “a trailblazer for Asian Americans and the community at large” by the Asian American Bar Association of New York, has been involved in Ng’s defence since late last year.
Mo was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan and a deputy police commissioner of trials in New York City – the first Chinese-American to reach the rank – before becoming a partner at law firm Whitman & Ransom in 1988.
He established the law firm Hugh H Mo, PC, six years later.
According to a New York Times article published in April 1988, Mo was born in Shanghai and lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Madrid. He arrived in New York at the age of nine and grew up in the Chinatown of Manhattan.