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TOKEN BLACK former UN president facing bribery, tax fraud charges (+video)

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NEW YORK — A former president of the United Nations General 
Assembly turned the world body into a "platform for profit" by 
accepting over $1 million in bribes and a trip to New Orleans 
from a billionaire Chinese real estate mogul and other business 
people to pave the way for lucrative investments, a prosecutor 
charged Tuesday.

John Ashe, a former United Nations ambassador from Antigua and 
Barbuda who served in the largely ceremonial post as head of the 
193-nation assembly from September 2013 to September 2014, faces 
tax fraud charges in what authorities call a conspiracy with 
five others, including Francis Lorenzo, a deputy UN ambassador 
from the Dominican Republic who lives in the Bronx.

US Attorney Preet Bharara repeatedly noted that it was early in 
the investigation and told reporters that as it proceeds: "We 
will be asking: Is bribery business as usual at the UN?"

He added: "I wouldn't be surprised if we see other people 
charged."

The prosecutor said Ashe "converted the United Nations into a 
platform for profit" when bribery opportunities were dangled 
before him by Chinese billionaire Ng Lap Seng, 67, and others.

"We obviously just learned of the very serious allegations this 
morning," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General 
Ban Ki-moon, told reporters. Dujarric said Ban was "shocked and 
deeply troubled" by the allegations that "go to the heart and 
integrity of the UN."

Still, he challenged Bharara's claims, saying, "Corruption is 
not business as usual at the UN." He said the UN's legal 
department and senior officials were not informed of the probe 
in advance.

Dujarric noted that the president of the General Assembly "does 
not report to the secretary-general and is completely 
independent in functions."

Those charged in the criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in 
Manhattan federal court included Seng, who was arrested two 
weeks ago along with his chief assistant, Jeff C. Yin, 29, a US 
citizen whose bail was revoked last week over allegations he 
lied to investigators after his arrest.

Lawyers for Ng, Yin and Lorenzo, 48, did not immediately respond 
to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear who would 
represent Ashe at an initial court appearance Tuesday. A message 
for comment left at Lorenzo's mission was also not immediately 
returned.

Diego Rodriguez, head of the FBI's New York office, said the 
charges should be a warning "to those who come to the United 
States from other countries with corruption plans or bags full 
of cash."

According to court papers, the 61-year-old Ashe used his UN 
positions to support a multibillion-dollar UN-sponsored 
conference center that Ng hoped to build as his legacy in Macau, 
where he lived, and to help Ng meet government officials from 
Antigua. Prosecutors said the conference center would function 
as a sort of satellite operation for the world body.

Dujarric said the UN had not found any documentation of the 
claims involving Macau.

The scheme unfolded over the course of nearly three years, from 
2011 through 2014, prosecutors said.

Ng and his assistant had been held by federal authorities on 
charges they lied about plans for $4.5 million in cash brought 
into the US over several years aboard private jets.

Prosecutors say some bribe money funded first-class airfare for 
Ashe, his wife and two children to New Orleans, where they 
stayed in an $850-a-night hotel room.

Other money, they said, was used to lease a luxury car, pay his 
home mortgage, buy Rolex watches and custom suits, and construct 
a $30,000 basketball court at his home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, 
where he was arrested Tuesday. He opened two bank accounts to 
receive the funds and then underreported his income by more than 
$1.2 million, officials said.

No one answered a phone call to the mission for Antigua; Ashe is 
no longer listed in the UN directory. A message left with a 
representative for the General Assembly wasn't immediately 
returned.

Prosecutors said two other arrested individuals were involved 
with Ng. They were identified as Sheri Yan, 57, and Heidi Park, 
52, both naturalized US citizens who reside in China and helped 
facilitate the scheme, prosecutors said. It wasn't clear who was 
representing them.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/1006/Former-UN-president-
facing-bribery-tax-fraud-charges-video
   

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TOKEN BLACK former UN president facing bribery, tax fraud charges (+video) "White Cross" <white-cross@msnbc.com> - 2016-10-15 10:28 +0200

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