A Chinese businessman who was accused of illegally funneling money to the Democratic National Committee before Bill Clinton’s reelection has been charged in a $1.3 million bribery scheme.
ABC News reported that Ng Lap Seng, a Clinton ally who played a role in "Donorgate" ahead of the 1996 elections, was charged by federal prosecutors in New York for funneling more than half a million dollars to a former president of the United Nations General Assembly in an effort to build a multibillion-dollar U.N.-connected conference center.
The Macau real estate developer was charged along with five others, including ex-U.N. General Assembly head John Ashe and other Chinese businessmen, for participating in the bribery scheme, according to Reuters.
The federal complaint alleges Ng used intermediaries, including his interpreter Jeff Yin, to pay Ashe upwards of $500,000 to inform the U.N. secretary general that the conference center in Macau was needed.
The news comes less than a month after Ng and Yin were arrested and held without bail in New York for sneaking more than $4.5 million in cash into the United States. Both Ng and Yin have been charged in the new case.
Ng, worth $1.8 billion, was arrested two weeks ago. His attorney has described the arrest as a misunderstanding. Meanwhile, Yin told officials that the businessman viewed the conference center as his "legacy" and used money to push its construction.
Before the 1996 elections, Ng transferred about $1.4 million to Charlie Trie, another Clinton ally and Chinese businessman, who then gave the money to the DNC before Bill Clinton’s reelection. Trie pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws in 1999, but Ng was never charged.
Ng visited the Clinton White House at least 10 times and even posed for a photo with the then-President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton.