Verdict returned in Manhattan federal court against one of China' s richest men says he' s charged with bribery, conspiracy and money laundering
NEW YORK — A Chinese billionaire who wanted to build a United Nations center in Macau and was accused of illegally paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to U. N. ambassadors to make it happen was convicted at his bribery trial on Thursday.
The verdict was returned in Manhattan federal court against Ng Lap Seng, one of China’s richest men. Ng was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges.
Acting U. S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said in a statement Thursday evening that “billionaire Ng Lap Seng corrupted the highest levels of the United Nations.”
“Through bribes and no show jobs, Ng turned leaders of the league of nations into his private band of profiteers, ” he wrote. “Ng’s journey from a Macau real estate mogul to convicted felon should serve as a cautionary tale to all tempted to follow his path. If you bring corruption to New York — whether to the State Capitol in Albany or to the halls of the U. N. General Assembly – your journey may very well end in a Manhattan federal courtroom, with a unanimous jury announcing your guilt.”
Prosecutors presented evidence that Ng from 2010 to 2015 bribed two U. N. ambassadors with hundreds of thousands of dollars to support his project to build a U. N. conference center, but defense lawyers contended that Ng only paid money when he was asked to spend it to speed the project along.
A prosecutor earlier this week had urged the jury to convict Ng, saying he bribed the ambassadors so he could build a U. N. facility that would be as big as the one in New York, a claim a defense attorney dismissed as “a big zero.
