A mystery Hong Kong businessman was the true source of a cash donation to America's Democratic Party which was reported to have come from a senior Chinese military official, it has been claimed.
The President of China Aerospace Corporation, Liu Jiyuan, told the Washington Post that an executive from the SAR, whom he knew only as Mr Zhang, was the source of the US$300,000 (HK$2.3 million) which middleman Johnny Chung had received as a political donation.
Mr Chung, who is co-operating with US authorities in a probe into the Democrats' overseas contributions, told FBI agents he was given the money by PLA colonel Liu Chaoying, a China Aerospace executive.
It was news of Colonel Liu's alleged donation which sparked the row in Washington over whether the White House's relaxation over controls on satellite co-operation with Beijing was, in part, prompted by political cash.
Mr Chung ended up giving only US$100,000 of the donation to the Democrats, who returned the money when the scandal broke.
But Mr Liu said he had discussed the issue with Colonel Liu, who assured him that although she had transferred US$300,000 into Mr Chung's Hong Kong bank account, the money was not hers but had belonged to a man she named as a Mr Zhang.