Courtroom sketch, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis
Federal prosecutors beefed up charges yesterday in a bribery conspiracy case that has ensnared a former president of the U.N. General Assembly, a Dominican Republic diplomat and a Chinese billionaire.
The indictment in Manhattan federal court boosts bribery charges brought against real estate mogul Ng Lap Seng and Francis Lorenzo, a suspended ambassador to the United Nations from the Dominican Republic, and two others. And it adds a money laundering charge against the men.
But no new charges were brought against John Ashe, a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served as president of the U.N. General Assembly for one year until a year ago. He faced tax charges when he was arrested two weeks ago on allegations contained in a criminal complaint.
“Although the government added a money laundering charge to the indictment, it is predicated on the same flawed allegations as in the complaint and will be vigorously defended,” said Ng’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman.
Pleas were scheduled to be entered on the indictment today (Macau time). Ashe is free on bail while Lorenzo and Ng remain in custody, though bail has been set at USD2 million for Lorenzo and $50 million for Ng. MDT/AP
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