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, Reuters reports.
According to the complaint, Ng, through intermediaries, paid Ashe more than $500,000 for 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.
Read alsoWSJ: U.S. probes alleged UN bribe schemeAshe, 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, the complaint said.
The case followed the September 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.
The complaint said the 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.
