A billionaire real estate developer from Macau will go to trial Monday in Manhattan on charges he bribed senior United Nations officials to support a multibillion-dollar conference centre he hoped to build. In exchange, Ng hoped the diplomats would provide UN support to help the Sun Kian Ip Group founder build the conference centre, prosecutors said. Defense lawyers have argued that Ng's prosecution was politically motivated, to help the US government check China's influence over developing countries that might have used the conference centre as a permanent meeting venue. Ng's businesses also include apparel and casinos, and he has sat on the Chinese government's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Ng was not charged in the matter, known as "Chinagate," and Broderick has said prosecutors may not discuss it at trial.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 23, 2017 23:48 UTC