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 John Ashe, a former U.N. 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
$1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen, including developer
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."
"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.
The case followed the Sept. 19 arrest of Ng, 68, and an assistant,
Jeff Yin, 29, for falsely claiming that $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 funds connected to Ng, who prosecutors say has a
$1.8 billion fortune, much of which he earned on developments in
Macau.
ROLEXES, BMW AND BASKETBALL COURT
According to the complaint, Ng, through intermediaries, paid Ashe
more than $500,000 to submit a document telling the U.N. secretary
general that a yet-to-be built multibillion-dollar U.N.-sponsored
conference center in Macau was needed.
The intermediaries included Francis Lorenzo, 48, a deputy U.N.
ambassador from the Dominican Republic who prosecutors said Ng paid
$20,000 monthly as "honorary president" of one of his organizations,
South-South News.
The other was Yin, who authorities said after his arrest disclosed
that Ng viewed the conference center as his "legacy" and made
payments to get action on it.
Ashe, 61, also received more than $800,000 from Chinese businessmen
to support their interests within the U.N. and Antigua, and kicked
some of the money to Antigua's then-prime minister, who was not
named, the complaint said.
Prosecutors said those bribes were arranged through Sheri Yan, chief
executive officer of a New York-based organization, and Heidi Park,
its finance director, who were also arrested.
The organization was unnamed, but the Global Sustainability
Foundation website lists Yan and Park as holding those positions.
The foundation did not respond to requests for comment. Baldwin
Spencer, who held the prime minister post at the time, could not be
reached for comment.
The complaint said Ashe solicited bribes in various forms, including
payments to cover a New Orleans family vacation and construction for
a $30,000 basketball court at his house in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
From 2012 to 2014, more than $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, prosecutors said.
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The complaint only charged Ashe with tax offenses, which it said are
not covered by any diplomatic immunity he enjoys. The U.N. General
Assembly presidency is a ceremonial, one-year post paid for by the
home country.
At a hearing late Tuesday, a federal judge set Ashe's bail at $1
million on condition be placed under house arrest, despite concerns
by prosecutors that he posed a flight risk.
Robert Van Lierop, his lawyer, said Ashe intends to "assert the full
range of immunity" to which he is entitled and would fight the
charges.
Brian Bieber, Lorenzo's lawyer, said his client "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.
Lawyers for Yin, Yan and Park declined comment.
PRIOR INVESTIGATIONS
Ng, also known as David Ng, heads Macau-based Sun Kian Ip Group,
whose foundation arm lists several ambassadors to the U.N.,
including Ashe and Lorenzo, 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 government.
Ng's name previously surfaced in U.S. 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 U.S. foreign bribery
investigation, a source has said, after his name surfaced in
litigation involving billionaire Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands
Corp <LVS.N>.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn also have brought sealed charges
against another individual linked to Ng, Yin's lawyer Sabrina Shroff
said at a Sept. 29 hearing. The status of any Brooklyn-based
investigation was unclear on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Joseph Ax in New York; Additional
reporting by Jon Stempel, Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau in
New York and Farah Master in Hong Kong; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and
Lisa Shumaker)
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