Law firm that defended Ng Lap Seng sues for non-payment

The law firm that defended billionaire real estate developer Ng Lap Seng in his criminal bribery case is accusing the Macau businessman of not paying more than $1.9 million in legal fees, reported Reuters.
The Law Firm of Hugh H. Mo on Monday sued Ng in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, saying that the billionaire has “simply failed and refused to pay” $1.9 million in legal costs.
“Despite repeated demands by the Mo firm, and Ng’s repeated assurance that payment would be rendered, Ng has refused to pay,” the firm wrote in its lawsuit, according to Reuters.
The firm added that Ng had never complained about or disputed the legal fees or his representation.
Ng was sentenced to four years in prison in 2018 for his role in bribing two United Nations ambassadors so he could build a large- scale conference center in Macau.
Ng was said to have paid more than $1 million to former UN General Assembly president John Ashe, as well as other officials, in exchange for their support for a conference center that would host the United Nations’ annual Global South-South Development Expo.
According to prosecutors, the conference center was to be located on a man-made island off the coast of Macau, where Ng also intended to develop a related complex that included apartments, offices, high-end shopping, a casino and a luxury hotel. DB