US authorities have arrested Hong Kong's former home affairs secretary and the ex-foreign minister of Senegal for leading a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme in Africa on behalf of a top Chinese energy company, with some deals arranged in the halls of the United Nations.
US officials announced on Monday that the former Senegalese top diplomat Cheikh Gadio and Hong Kong's Patrick Chi Ping Ho sent huge bribes to high-level officials in Chad and Uganda to secure business advantages for the Chinese company.
The company was not identified in the announcement or the complaint filed in New York federal district court, but details in the complaint pointed to CEFC China Energy, the Shanghai-based rising star of China's energy industry.
CEFC China Energy has blown on to the scene in just a few years, taking major stakes in global projects, including a 14 per cent chunk of Russia's Rosneft, and playing an important role in the Chinese president Xi Jinping's ambitious One Belt One Road initiative.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said 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," Mr Lu told a regular news briefing.
In the US justice department complaint, the two men allegedly offered a US$2 million bribe to the president of Chad "to obtain valuable oil rights", and a $500,000 bribe to an account designated by the minister of foreign affairs of Uganda, who had recently completed his term as the president of the UN General Assembly.
"In an international corruption scheme that spanned the globe, Chi Ping Patrick Ho and Cheikh Gadio allegedly conspired to bribe African government officials on behalf of a Chinese energy conglomerate," said the acting Manhattan US attorney Joon Kim.
The charges were based on their use of the US banking system to process almost $1m in pay-offs, sent under the guise of donations.
Ho, who led a Hong Kong-based organisation 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, authorities said.
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"Their bribes and corrupt acts hurt our economy and undermine confidence in the free marketplace," said the acting assistant attorney general Kenneth Blanco.
Mr Ho, 68, and Mr 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. They were arrested over the weekend in New York.
Mr Ho was Hong Kong Home Affairs secretary from 2002 to 2007, and served for several years on the Chinese people's political consultative committee conference.
Mr Gadio was Senegal's foreign minister from 2000 to 2009.
CEFC China Energy's role was apparent in the formal complaint. It identified the chairman of the unnamed company as someone who was appointed as a "special honorary adviser" to the president of the UN general assembly in 2015, when the Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa held that position.
A Chinese media report at the time showed CEFC China Energy chairman Ye Jianming together with Mr Kutesa noting Mr Ye had just been named a "special honorary adviser" to the UN general assembly.
Mr Ye was labelled China's "newest oil baron" by Forbes magazine in 2016 after his company made a number of large investments in the Czech Republic.
CEFC China Energy has spread its business through Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, rising in just a few years to be a major player in world oil markets and raising questions about its backing inside China.
Calls placed to the company went unanswered.
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
