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John Ashe was a UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who was general assembly president from 2013 to 2014. Photos: AP, Reuters

Ex-UN General Assembly president, billionaire Macau real estate developer and four others charged for bribery

John Ashe is alleged to have received over US$800,000 to support their the Chinese businesman's interests within the UN and Antigua

US authorities charged a former president of the United Nations General Assembly, a billionaire Macau real estate developer and four others on Tuesday for engaging in a wide-ranging corruption scheme.

John Ashe, a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who was general assembly president from 2013 to 2014, was 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 developer Ng Lap Seng.

Manhattan US 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”.

“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.

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

Ng Lap Seng also known as David, heads Sun Kian Ip Group, whose foundation arm lists several ambassadors to the UN, including Ashe, as holding leadership positions.

The case followed the September 19 arrest of Ng, 68, and an assistant, Jeff Yin, 29, for falsely claiming that US$4.5 million they brought into the United States from China from 2013 to 2015 was meant for gambling or buying art, antiques or real estate.

Both men are charged in the latest case. Bharara said authorities continue to examine the funds connected to Ng, who prosecutors say has a US$1.8 billion fortune, much of which he earned on developments in Macau.According to the complaint, Ng, through intermediaries, paid Ashe more than $500,000 for telling the UN secretary general that a yet-to-be built multibillion-dollar UN-sponsored conference centre in Macau was needed.

The intermediaries included Francis Lorenzo, 48, a deputy UN ambassador from the Dominican Republic, and Yin, who told authorities that Ng viewed the conference centre as his legacy and made payments to get UN action on it, the complaint said.

Ashe, 61, also received more than US$800,000 from Chinese businessmen to support their interests within the UN and Antigua, and kicked some of the money to Antigua’s then-prime minister, the complaint said.

The complaint said those bribes were arranged through Shiwei Yan, also known as Sheri Yan, chief executive officer of a New York-based non-profit, and Heidi Hong Piao, also known as Heidi Park, its finance director.

The unnamed non-profit matches the description of the Global Sustainability Foundation. And while the complaint did not name the prime minister, Baldwin Spencer held the post at the time.

The foundation and Antigua and Barbuda’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment. Spencer could not be reached.

The complaint said Ashe solicited bribes in various forms, including payments to cover a family vacation to New Orleans and the construction of a US$30,000 basketball court at his house in Dobbs Ferry, New York, the complaint said.

From 2012 to 2014, more than US$3 million from foreign governments and individuals was deposited in bank accounts controlled by Ashe, who spent the money on his mortgage, BMW lease payments and Rolex watches, the complaint said.

The complaint only charged Ashe with tax offences, which it said are not covered by any diplomatic immunity he enjoys.

The UN general assembly presidency is a ceremonial one-year post paid for by the home country.

Bieber Brian, Lorenzo’s lawyer, said his client “maintains that he acted in good faith at all times and believed in the integrity of what he was told by those involved”. Ng’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, said his client committed no crime.

Yin’s lawyer had no immediate comment. Lawyers for the others could not be immediately identified.Ng, also known as David Ng, heads Macau-based Sun Kian Ip Group, whose foundation arm lists several ambassadors to the UN, including Ashe, as holding leadership positions.

In China, Ng sits on several government committees and belongs to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the Beijing government.

Ng’s name previously surfaced in US investigations into how foreign money might have been funneled into the Democratic National Committee before the 1996 elections, when it was working to re-elect President Bill Clinton.

Ng, who was never charged, stopped coming to the United States from 1996 to 2000 amid the probe, prosecutors have said.

More recently, in 2014, Ng was subpoenaed in a US foreign bribery investigation, a source has said, after his name surfaced in litigation involving billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn also have brought sealed charges against another individual linked to Ng, Yin’s lawyer Sabrina Shroff said at a September 28 hearing. The status of any Brooklyn-based investigation was unclear on Tuesday.

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