Former president of the UN General Assembly John Ashe on Tuesday was arrested and charged with taking US$1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen in a corruption scandal that stunned the world body.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “shocked and deeply troubled” by the charges, which were unprecedented in the UN’s 70-year history.
Ashe, who served as assembly president for a year from September 2013, allegedly took bribes in exchange for backing a proposed UN conference center in Macau promoted by wealthy Chinese developer Ng Lap Seng (吳立勝).
“Ashe accepted over US$500,000” from Ng, who was “seeking to build a multi-billion [US] dollar, UN-sponsored conference center in Macau,” the complaint said.
New York police on Tuesday arrested the 61-year-old former UN ambassador for Antigua and Barbuda at his home in Dobbs Ferry, outside New York City, and detained three others in New York.
US Attorney Preet Bharara said Ashe was using the UN as a “platform for profit,” pushing for the Macau project and advancing Chinese interests in his Caribbean home nation.
In exchange for payments, Ashe submitted a written request to Ban, “which claimed that there was a purported need to build the UN Macau Conference Center,” the complaint said.
Ng and others used the March 2012 letter from Ashe to promote the conference center, which was to house a “Global Business Incubator” to foster South-South cooperation in the private sector.
Ashe, who holds Antiguan citizenship and is a US resident, served as ambassador when he wrote the letter, a position he held until November last year.
Dominican Deputy UN Ambassador Francis Lorenzo was also imprisoned along with Yan Shiwei (嚴雪瑞) and Heidi Hong Piao (海迪·帕克) on multiple bribery-related counts.
Last month, Ng was arrested in New York along with associate Jeff Yin for smuggling more than US$4.5 million in cash into the US over a two-year period.
The six are accused of using a fake non-governmental organization (NGO) to carry out the bribery scheme. Lorenzo, the NGO’s honorary president, was paid a US$20,000 salary.
“If proven, today’s charges will confirm that the cancer of corruption that plagues too many local and state governments infects the United Nations as well,” Bharara told a news conference.
The former UN assembly boss “sold himself and the global institution he led” for Rolexes, suits and a private basketball court all paid for by the wealthy Chinese developer, the attorney said.
The bribes were allegedly paid from 2011 to December last year.
Details of Ashe’s luxurious lifestyle listed in court documents showed that he purchased two Rolex watches worth US$54,000, took out a US$40,000 lease for a new BMW and ordered expensive tailored suits from Hong Kong worth US$59,000.
Ashe received US$800,000 from Chinese businessmen to advance their interests at the UN and with the Antigua government, the documents said. Antigua’s prime minister allegedly received a cut of the bribe money.
The bribe payments also went to pay for family vacations and the construction of a basketball court at Ashe’s Dobbs Ferry house.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN officials first learned of the charges when media reports surfaced on Tuesday, and had not been contacted by the US authorities to help in the investigation.
“The secretary-general was shocked and deeply troubled to learn this morning of the allegations against John Ashe, which go to the heart of the integrity of the United Nations,” he said.
UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark said he was “deeply shocked” and declared that “the United Nations and its representatives should be held to the highest standards of transparency and ethics.”
However, he declined to say whether any new measures would be introduced to oversee the conduct of ambassadors and UN leaders in light of the corruption scandal.
“I am in no position to investigate myself or to make new regulations without a specific decision from the General Assembly,” Lykketoft said.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS