Chinese president Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, in 2016. Ho allegedly asked Gadio -- "a close friend" of the president of Chad -- to help resolve the issue. Gadio allegedly immediately phoned "the big man," which the FBI has taken to mean the president of Chad, Idriss Deby. Gadio allegedly suggested meeting in a "village in the middle of the desert," and flying there directly from Ethiopia. Li Zhaoxing, who was Chinese foreign minister between 2003 and 2007, with Cheikh Gadio in 2006 in Dakar.

Source: CNN February 10, 2018 00:31 UTC