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Ex-UN General Assembly president held, charged in bribery case

New York: In an embarrassing turn of events for the United Nations, former General Assembly president John Ashe was arrested and charged yesterday with accepting more than USD 1.3-million bribe from business people in China in exchange for help to Chinese businesses obtain lucrative contracts.
Ashe, 61, who had served as the 68th UNGA President, was arrested here and is among six people arrested in the case.

He along with Deputy UN Ambassador for the Dominican Republic Francis Lorenzo, Ng Lap Seng, Jeff Yin, Shiwei Yan and Heidi Hong Piao were charged in connection with a multi-year scheme to pay more than USD 1.3 million in bribes to Ashe in exchange for official actions in his capacity as UNGA President and Antiguan government official in support of Chinese business interests.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, in announcing the charges, said if proven, the charges will confirm that the ‘cancer of corruption’ plagues too many local and state governments and has infected the United Nations as well.

“As alleged, for Rolexes, bespoke suits, and a private basketball court, John Ashe, the 68th President of the UN General Assembly, sold himself and the global institution he led,” Bharara said.

He stated the defendants were ‘united in greed’ and allegedly formed a corrupt nexus of business and government, converting the UN into a platform for profit.

According to the allegations, Ashe has been soliciting and accepting bribes since approximately 2011 from various business people in China seeking to influence the actions of the UN and officials in Ashe’s home country of Antigua.

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