Chinese billionaire convicted in United Nations bribery case
NEW YORK — A Chinese billionaire who wanted to build a United Nations centre in Macau was convicted on Thursday of paying more than $1.7 million in bribes to U.N. ambassadors to get it done.
The verdict was returned after a day of deliberations in Manhattan federal court against Ng Lap Seng, one of China’s richest men. Ng was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Ng from 2010 to 2015 bribed two U.N. ambassadors, including a U.N. General Assembly president, paying one $50,000 monthly at the scheme’s peak to create a centre to serve struggling Southern Hemisphere nations.
Defence lawyers contended the payments were ordinary. But the centre was never built.