Former HK official arrested in New York
Print Edition
AUTHORITIES in the United States have arrested Hong Kong’s former home affairs secretary and the ex-foreign minister of Senegal in connection with an alleged multimillion dollar bribery scheme in Africa involving a top Chinese energy company.
Some deals are said to have been arranged in the halls of the United Nations.
Patrick Chi Ping Ho and Cheikh Gadio sent huge bribes to high-level officials in Chad and Uganda to secure business advantages for the Chinese company, US officials claimed. The company was not identified in the announcement or the complaint filed in New York federal district court.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said yesterday that he did not have details about the case.
“I just want to stress that the Chinese government asks its enterprises to abide by local laws and regulations when operating businesses abroad,” Lu told a regular news briefing.
In the Justice Department’s complaint, the two men are alleged to have offered a US$2 million bribe to Chad’s president for “valuable oil rights” and a US$500,000 bribe to an account designated by Uganda’s foreign affairs minister, who had recently completed his term as president of the UN General Assembly.
Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement that the charges were based on the use of the US banking system to process almost a million dollars in payoffs as “donations.”
Ho, who led a Hong Kong-based organization called the China Energy Fund Committee, also known as CEFC and funded by CEFC China Energy, also provided Uganda’s president and foreign minister with gifts and promises of future benefits — including a share in the profits of a potential joint venture, US authorities said.
“Their bribes and corrupt acts hurt our economy and undermine confidence in the free marketplace,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco.
Ho, 68, and Gadio, 61, are each charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering, with possible jail sentences of as much as 20 years. Gadio was arrested on Friday and Ho the following day. Both in New York.
Ho was Hong Kong’s home affairs secretary from 2002 to 2007, and served for several years on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee Conference.
Gadio was Senegal’s foreign minister from 2000 to 2009.
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