Macau magnate Ng Lap-seng a magnet for controversy
Ng Lap-seng met ex-US president Clinton and linked to restaurateur with alleged triad ties
With high-level connections from Beijing to Washington and a business portfolio as colourful as it is profitable, Ng Lap-seng is no small fish.
As well as holding formal positions on national and Macau government bodies, the man accused by the US authorities of bribing former president of the United Nations General Assembly John Ashe, is understood to have close links to the People's Liberation Army.
The 68-year-old has also been photographed in the company of American political figures, most notably ex-US president Bill Clinton and his would-be-president wife, Hillary.
Ng - who is said to be married with a son - arrived in Macau with few possessions in 1979 from Nanhai , Guangdong province. After dealing in cheap garments, Ng was a wealthy man by the early 1990s.
He is a co-owner of the Hotel Fortuna in Macau. The old-style hotel - which includes a casino, sauna, and nightclub - does not attract much attention from the general public, but it is said to be where the powerful and prestigious like to let their hair down.
Ng is also the chairman of Macau real estate company San Kin Yip group, which has dozens of subsidiaries and joint ventures.
Over the years, he and his companies have been involved in a number of legal disputes.