U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announces an indictment against six United Nations individuals during a news conference, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015 in New York
The issue of diplomatic immunity is likely to remain a thorn in the side of prosecutors attending to the alleged United Nations bribery scandal unearthed in October, which involved local real-estate developer and billionaire Ng Lap Seng.
One of six individuals facing charges in connection with the alleged bribery activities of the former UN General Assembly president has claimed that diplomatic immunity prevents him from having to entertain the indictment.
The obstacle of “diplomatic immunity” has troubled prosecutors, who, to date, have only been able to lay charges of tax fraud to former UN official John Ashe.
Assistant US Attorney Janis Echenberg said that prosecutors were “looking carefully” at the issue of diplomatic immunity at a court hearing in late October, according to the news agency Reuters.
Brian Bieber, a lawyer acting on behalf of former diplomat Francis Lorenzo, asked Manhattan court judge Vernon Broderick to dismiss the accusations of bribery and money laundering. He argued that his client was entitled to immunity at the time of the alleged activities and the subsequent arrest.
“As such, Lorenzo is protected from prosecution by virtue of his diplomatic agent immunity,” Bieber wrote.
Francis Lorenzo served as the deputy UN ambassador for the Dominican Republic until he was recently suspended. He is now facing charges for his alleged involvement in the suspected USD1.3 million bribery case relating to John Ashe.
Prosecutors accused the former deputy ambassador of having extensive connections within the bribery network.
Lorenzo is suspected to have received tens of thousands of dollars per month from Ng Lap Seng’s organizations in return for supporting the creation of a United Nations South-South Cooperation Center in Macau, to be built by Ng’s real-estate companies.
Lorenzo, Ashe and Ng have all been released on bail while they await trial proceedings. Staff reporter
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