Macau Unesco heritage site under threat as US probes alleged bribery links to estate tycoon

A former president of the United Nations General Assembly, a billionaire Macau real estate developer and four other people have been charged in connection with what US authorities have described as a wide-ranging corruption scheme.

John Ashe, a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who was general assembly president from 2013 to 2014, has been accused in a complaint filed in federal court in New York of taking more than US$1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen, including Macau real estate tycoon, Ng Lap Seng.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who announced the arrests of Ashe and the other defendants, said the investigation could result in more charges as authorities examine whether "corruption is business as usual at the United Nations."

The latest charges come as sources in Macau say the probe includes allegations of bribery linked to development projects on or near to Unesco heritage sites.

Details of the latest twist in the probe into Ng – an influential businessman with high-level connections in Beijing and Washington – come just days after the chief executive, Fernando Chiu Sai-on, marked the 10th anniversary of the historic centre of Macau being placed on the World Heritage List by admitting there was room for improvement in revitalising historic buildings.

"If proven, today's charges will confirm that the cancer of corruption that plagues too many local and state governments infects the United Nations as well," Bharara said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "shocked and deeply troubled" by the allegations, said his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. The U.N. had not previously been informed of the probe, Dujarric said, but would cooperate if contacted.