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A former ambassador to the United Nations from Antigua and Barbuda is in big trouble following the admission in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday by a Chinese businesswoman that she bribed the UN official more than $1 million.
Heidi Piao, 52, a naturalized U.S. citizen, admitted that she gave the money to John Ashe, former president of the UN General Assembly. The bribe was for Ashe to promote Piao's different business interests, reports The New York Daily News.
Ashe is accused of accepting $200,000 from Piao and another defendant for the envoy to attend and speak at a private conference in China in his official capacity. The summit was hosted by a real estate developer. He is also accused of promoting a $20-million deal for a tech firm to install a national internet security system in his home country.
The ex-UN official allegedly accepted the bribes to support his extravagant lifestyle. According to court documents, Ashe paid $59,000 for hand-tailored suits in Hong Kong, $54,000 for two Rolex watches, $54,000 rental for a new BMW X5, $69,000 membership at a country club in South Carolina and built a $30,000 basketball court at his residence in Dobbs Ferry, New York, reports ABC.
Piao and Ng Lap Seng a Chinese billionaire, were also accused in the case filed by U.S. Attorney General Preet Bharara. Ng is accused of also bribing Ashe to back a multibillion-dollar UN-sponsored conference center that the billionaire was building in China.
By entering into a cooperation agreement in exchange for testifying against Ashe, Piao would enjoy leniency on bribery, money laundering and other charges that she is accused of. The charges have a combined maximum penalty of 60 years prison term.
