At
UN, Chinese 1-Man Art Show Oct 23 Echoes Ng
Lap Seng, Photo by UN Hua Jiang
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video,
audio,
photo
UNITED NATIONS,
October 23 – Eleven weeks
after the UN bribery
convictions of Macau-based
businessman Ng Lap Seng, he's
made a request for a
confidential meeting with
consular officials of the
People's Republic of China,
citing the Vienna Convention.
The meeting, if approved,
would take place in Ng's
luxury apartment a block from
the UN, where he's received
massages four to ten hours a
day. On October 23, in an echo
to an Ng Lap Seng funded art
exhibit in the UN Secretariat
lobby for which then DPI chief
Cristina Gallach did no due
diligence (see OIOS audit),
another one-man Chinese art
show was held, with UN retiree
Gordon Tapper and others.
Gallach's and now Alison
Smale's head of censorship Hua
Jiang passed through, even
took a cell phone photo. What
is going ON at the UN, that
this type of event takes
place, while the Press which
covered the first corruption
scandal remains restricted,
even newly threatened? We'll
have more on this. A stated
reason for Ng's request for a
consular visit is to
discussion the conditions of
his detention, as well as
"possible legal and diplomatic
issues
raised in the case related to
China." Meanwhile Inner City
Press, which covered the trial
(and was evicted from and
remains restricted in the UN
for pursuing still unacted on
UN aspects of the bribery) has
replied to the Freedom of
Information Act response
seeking to hinder its and the
public's access to additional
UN-related documents. We'll
have more on this. How corrupt
and UNresponsive is the UN?
Days after the indictment of
UN President of the General
Assembly John Ashe and Ng Lap
Seng, Bangladesh's
then-Ambassador Abdul Monem
fled the US. As Inner City
Press reported, Monem was
involved in the scandal. He
not only attended Ng's Macau
event in August 2015 - after
that, on September 6, 2015,
Monem "urgently" emailed
Francis Lorenzo who has
pleaded guilty to ask how to
insert the Macau "outcome"
into a GA resolution. So he
fled the US. And yet on
September 28, 2017, as photographed
by still-restricted
Inner City Press, Abdul Monem
was back in the UN, in the
Security Council no less, for
the open meeting on the
Rohingya of Myanmar. On the
morning of October 2, Inner
City Press asked the UN's top
three spokespeople, in
writing: "In the recent UNSC
open meeting on Myanmar,
former Bangladesh Ambassador
Abdul Monem, who left the US
within days of the indictment
of Ashe, Ng and Francis
Lorenzo, reappeared. Given
what came out during the Ng
Lap Seng prosecution, please
state whether this former
Permanent Representative kept
his UN ID badge to access UNHQ
or was newly credentialed, and
separately what follow up the
UN (OLA or OIOS) is making on
what was exposed during the Ng
Lap Seng prosecution.
Requesting all answers by
email, on deadline. Please
confirm receipt." Deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq,
who delayed
then provided
a troubling
statement on
the government
crackdowns in
Cameroon,
did not even
acknowledge
this UN
corruption
question much
less answer
it, a day
later.
Two months after the UN
bribery verdict of six guilty
counts against Ng Lap Seng was
delivered by the jury on July
27, now Ng's lawyers have
filed a motion for a new
trial, arguing that government
witness Francis Lorenzo
committed perjury including
about the UN and its office of
South South Cooperation, and
South South News. See portions
of Ng's motion, below. On
August 16 Inner City Press
asked UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres for his
response to the verdict. He
scoffed and walked off. Video
here.
On September 27 Inner City
Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about Ng's newest filing, and
if even the UN's Yiping Zhou
had been held accountable in
any way. (The answer is no.).
From the UN's transcript:
Inner City Press:
there's been a request by Mr.
Ng Lap Seng for a new trial in
his case. And, in the
filing that he made yesterday,
he actually cites… and I
wanted to ask… get your
response to a specific comment
in his filing. He says
that… jumping into it, “all of
these actions resulted from
pressure that [Francis]
Lorenzo and [John] Ashe
exerted on Yiping Zhu of the
[United Nations] Office of
South-South Cooperation in
exchange for bribes.”
And that's just a straight
statement, summary of the
case. And so I wanted to
know, I know that you've said
he's not with the UN, but,
given how it's now portrayed
in the case as… as… as… as a
fait accompli, shown
definitively, what
accountability has there been
in the UN system? Is Mr.
Yiping Zhu still receiving his
pension? What attempts
were made by the UN to hold
him accountable?
Spokesman: First of all,
he no longer works here.
Anyone… the UN has cooperated
fully and actively with all
the host country authorities
on this trial. No UN
staff member that I'm aware
has been charged with a
crime. We continue and
we will continue to cooperate
with the authorities as
requested. Inner City Press:
Does the UN believe that the…
the… the activities of Mr. Zhu
described in the case were
appropriate for UN staff
member? And,
secondarily… Spokesman:
I have no way of verifying the
veracity of what you've just
read to me. Inner City
Press: Has OLA [Office
of Legal Affairs], which
stated that they were going to
seek to be reimbursed for
their role in the case, have
they taken any steps in that
regard since the verdict in
July? Spokesman: "I'm
not aware of it.
Okay. Thank you." Thanks
for what? Corruption and
censorship? Here's from Ng's
memorandum of law: "On direct
examination, the government
elicited testimony from
Lorenzo that he and Ashe had
power over Yiping Zhou, who
was then the director of the
UNOSSC, and that they used
that power to cause Yiping
Zhou to take the two brand new
official actions that the
government had
now injected into the case:
sending support letters from
the UNOSSC, and signing the
Pro Bono Agreement with Mr.
Ng. (See, e.g., Trial Tr.
764-766.) In particular,
Lorenzo testified that
Yiping Zhou (1) drafted a
letter for Lorenzo to request
support from the UNOSSC in
November
2013 (GX339, GX340; Trial Tr.
1217-1227); (2) issued a
support letter in January 2014
to Lorenzo identifying Sun
Kian Ip Group (“SKIG”) as the
company tasked with
establishing a conference
center in Macau (GX142; GX982;
Trial Tr. 666-670); (3) issued
another letter to SKIG in June
2014 (GX977; Trial Tr.
1314-1316); (4) issued another
letter to the Sun Kian Ip
Group Foundation in February
2015 that referred to a
long-standing request from
John Ashe (GX238; Trial Tr.
1346-1349); and (5) ignored
normal partner selection
criteria signing the Pro Bono
Agreement in December 2014
(GX205, GX995, Trial Tr.
670-676). According to
Lorenzo, all of these actions
resulted from pressure that he
and Ashe exerted on Zhou in
exchange for bribes... Lorenzo
testified extensively about
payments made to Ashe’s wife
Dr. Anilla Cherian, who was
paid by South-South News
(“SSN”) as a consultant
between 2011 and 2014.
According to Lorenzo, in
January 2014, Mr. Ng asked for
a list of the staff and
consultants working at SSN
because he was considering
reducing its workforce. (Trial
Tr. 1258.) Lorenzo testified
that he told Mr. Ng that they
“should continue having Anilla
because she’s John wife and
[they] needed John to continue
his support on the expo and
the letters that we were
needing.” (Id.) The government
presented no other evidence to
corroborate that testimony—but
nevertheless relied on that
alleged conversation in its
closing to argue that Ng
intentionally channeled
payments to Dr. Cherian in
exchange for favorable
treatment from Ashe. (Trial
Tr.
3902-03.) Lorenzo also
testified that in November
2013, Ashe told him that he
wanted SSN to pay for a
reception he hosted at the
United Nations, and that
Lorenzo talked to Yin to ask
for the funding. (Trial Tr.
1232.) Lorenzo further
testified that Jeff Yin did
give him $20,000 in cash for
the reception, and that
Lorenzo later gave $16,000 of
that money to Ashe (and kept
the remaining $4000 for
himself). (Trial Tr. 1236-37.)
Once again, the government
presented no other evidence to
corroborate that testimony,
but relied on that evidence in
its closing to establish the
alleged bribery scheme. "
We'll have more on this, and
the UN's unseemly role, now
being further exposed. The
last head of
the UN
Department of
Public
Information
Cristina
Gallach did no
due diligence
as Ng Lap
Seng's fundees
like South
South News
bought events
in the UN
lobby and even
the UN's
slavery
memorial (UN
audit here),
then evicted
Inner City
Press which
asked her
about her
connections
with Ng's
South South
Awards. New
head of DPI
Alison Smale
has done
nothing about
this: Inner
City Press is
still
restricted.
On
September 6
Inner City
Press having
obtained more
documents from
the
prosecution of Ng
asked
Guterres'
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric about
the duty to
report of UN
Security that
accompanied
John Ashe,
Francis
Lorenzo and
others in a
clear corrupt
visit to
Macau.
Dujarric, who
has refused 18
of the last 21
written
questions from
Inner City
Press
including on
UN corruption,
refused
to say what the duty
to report was,
or is in
today's UN. This
stonewalling
continued on
September 8,
even as the
same officer
appeared in
the UN Press
Briefing Room
guarding outgoing
PGA Thomson.
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric, UN
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press:
had
asked you, I
think, I don't
know if it was
yesterday or
the day
before, if
you've looked
into what the
rules are for
the… the UN
security
people that
that went with
John Ashe to
Macau and
that… that
will
presumably
keep offering
close
protection to
future PGAs
(Presidents of
the General
Assembly).
If crime is
witnessed by
the UN, and
this… and I'm…
as I go
through those
exhibits, it's
pretty clear
that the first
trip, there
was nothing
hidden about
it. I'm…
I'm not
blaming the
guard. I
guess what I'm
asking you is
what are the
rules?
What is the
protocol for
someone
assigned by…
from UN DSS
(Department of
Safety and
Security) to
accompany a UN
official if
they witness
what's, as it
turns out, a
crime? Spokesman:
"Staff rules
are applicable
to everyone,
and I will
leave it at
that."
Here
is one of the
photographs,
of UN
Security with
Ashe, Frances
Fuller,
Paulette
Bethel and Ng
Lap Seng,
guilty of six
counts of UN
bribery and
money
laundering,
and others.
More on this
to follow. The
UN is
UNreformed.
There was
event on
August 25 in
the UN's
ECOSOC Chamber
- which Inner
City Press for 18
months and counting
has
required a UN
"minder" to
reach - by a
group linked
to Carlos
Garcia, shown
in the Ng trial to
have aided
money
laundering.
Inner City
Press
published this
email
from Garcia,
to help Ng
wire money to
Francis
Lorenzo
through a
relative in the
Dominican
Republic. Here on Patreon. And
here's
Garcia at the
founding of
Guterres'
August 25
host. We'll
have more on
this. How
far will the
UN go to get
positive media
coverage, and
to punish and
hinder, if
still not
prevent,
critical
oversight?
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's 2015
to Honduras
and El
Salvador was
given entirely
positive
coverage by
South South
News, the
$300,000 a
month bribery
conduit of now
convicted
Macau-based
businessman Ng
Lap Seng.
Click here
for that
coverage,
still online.
Now in emails
obtained and published
by Inner City
Press, it is
shown that
South South
News president
Francis
Lorenzo, who
has pleaded
guilty, wrote
to UN official
Yiping Zhou
about the
coverage:
“Dear yiping
enclose see
the first
report of our
coverage of
the trip of
the SG to El
Salvador.”
Zhou wrote
back, “Great
job covering
the SG's
visit. We
should do more
for the SG,
and other
heads of UN
organs
especially
also for
our UNDP
Administrator
Helen Clark.
Please find my
letter of
support” - a
letter
supporting
Ng's
now-disgraced,
never-built
Macau
conference
Center. So the
UN supported
Ng's corrupt
plan, in
response to
positive
coverage of
Ban Ki-moon by
Ng's South
South News.
Zhou was Ban
Ki-moon's
personal Envoy
on South South
Cooperation.
And like
Zhou's letter
for Ng's
project, Ban
wrote a
"personal 'Thank You'
note" to South
South News
Afaf Konja
"for her
coverage of
his official
visit, calling
her a
'champion for
South-South
Cooperation.'"
These names
came up
repeatedly
during the Ng
Lap Seng
prosecution,
begun by
then-US
Attorney Preet
Bharara with
the question,
Is bribery
business as
usual at the
UN? The answer
was and is,
Yes. And when
Inner City
Press pursued
the Ng Lap
Seng bribery
scandal,
seeking to
cover a
meeting of the
UN
Correspondents
Association
who took full
page ads from
Ng' South
South News and
provided the
venue for Ng's
photo op with
Ban (Cipriani
42nd
Street),
Inner City
Press was
evicted from
the UN Press
Briefing Room,
then its long
time office in
the UN, where
it still
remains
restricted
under Ban's
successor Antonio
Guterres.
On August 16,
Inner City
Press asked
Guterres about
the Ng guilty
verdicts;
Guterres declined
to answer. The
UN still
contains
corruption,
and still
punishes and
restricts the
Press which
covers it.
Beyond the
corruption, it
is a conflict
of interest to
have the same
UN Department
which views
its role as
promoting
positive
coverage of
the UN be the
one to decide,
without rules
or free press
constraints,
which media
get full
access, and
which like
Inner City
Press are
evicted and
restricted.
The incoming
head of the UN
Department of
Public
Information
Alison Smale,
replacing
Cristina
Gallach who
partied at
Ng's South
South Awards
and did no due
diligence on
his events and
sponsorships
in the UN,
will have to
deal with
this. We'll
have more on
this.
On August 17 Inner City Press
asked Guterres' deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq about
trial exhibits it has begun to
receive, on Meena
Sur and the Global
Compact, for first
examples. Video here;
from the UN transcript
here, text below. On
August 18, Inner City Press
asked Haq about another
of the many exhibits, moving
closer to home: UN transcript
here:
Inner City Press: as these
exhibits from the Ng Lap Seng
trial continue to come in, I
wanted to ask you, I was
surprised to see it, because
it wasn't, at least the days
that I went, presented in the
trial. There are documents
that show that the office, UN
Office of South-South
Cooperation, wrote a letter
supporting the conference
centre in Macau, specifically
after South-South News covered
a Ban Ki-moon trip. I
think they were the only media
to cover it, and afterwards,
they were congratulated by the
Office of South-South
Cooperation, and a letter was
produced by Mr. Yiping Zhou
supporting the conference
center. From the document, it
appears that the UN system as
a whole, whether the
Secretary-General knew or not,
essentially rewarded positive
coverage of this Ban Ki-moon
trip with a letter for a
conference centre that's now
been totally discredited and
was not built because it was
based on bribery. And I
wanted to know, what is the
UN's position on this?
What is… I know Mr. Yiping
Zhou has left, but what was
the connection between the
South-South News travelling
with and covering Ban
Ki-moon's trip and this letter
that was given to the, the Sun
Kian Ip Foundation to build a
conference centre in Macau?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
I'm not aware of any
connection. Regarding concerns
about South-South News, we've
explained to you at the time
what our concerns had been
about South-South News and its
activities. They are no
longer accredited, and the
Office of South-South
Cooperation, as you know, had
undergone different reforms
under its new leadership, and
I believe they've been in
touch with you about that.
Inner City Press: My question
really at this point goes to
the Secretariat, if you see
what I'm saying, because the…
the activity of South-South
News that UNDP's [United
Nations Development Programme]
Office of South-South
Cooperation was rewarding with
this letter was coverage of
the Secretary-General's
trip. So was this done
with no knowledge by the
Secretariat… by the
Secretariat? Deputy
Spokesman: We, we don't,
we don't "reward" coverage of
trips by
Secretaries-General. I
mean, there are many
trips. Many, many
outlets cover them. If they
were all getting rewarded for
them, that would be lots and
lots of rewards to hand out.
Have a good weekend, everyone.
From
August 17: Inner City Press:
now that the Ng Lap Seng
verdict has been rendered,
Inner City Press has been
obtaining the exhibits.
And I wanted to ask you,
because, even going back and
looking at the audit, several
things were not solved.
Number one, there’s now
specific emails involving
current DGACM (Department of
General Assembly and
Conference Management)
employee Meena Sur to Francis
Lorenzo regarding the
insertion of the name Sun
Kiang Ip Group into a GA
(General Assembly) document,
that’s referenced in the
audit. Many people say
Mr. [Ion] Botnaru
retired. That’s why
nothing was ever done. I
guess what I want to know is,
what’s been done? Is
there some explanation, again,
of a current UN official
having worked on the insertion
of this company name into a GA
document improperly?
Deputy Spokesman:
Regarding the general issue,
without getting into the cases
of specific individuals, the
fact is the Department of
Management has followed up on
the various conclusions
brought in by these reports
and has made sure that all
actions are properly
undertaken.
Inner City Press: There’s
another email, which is the
Global Compact responded to
Francis Lorenzo actually but
about Sun Kiang Ip Group
joining the Global
Compact. And it said,
“We’ll get back to you after
review of one or two
weeks.” So, I wanted to
know, in terms of the Global
Compact, given that Sun Kiang
Ip Group is involved in
casinos and other businesses,
what review on the front end…
I know it’s often said, once
you join the Global Compact,
the only thing that’s required
is the filing of reports, not
anything substantive.
But what review is done if, in
fact, a casino business itself
already involves controversy
at the time can join?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
I believe the Global Compact
on its own website tells you
exactly what its priorities
are and what it asks of
incoming members, so I would
just refer you to that.
Inner City Press: So how
do they join?
Deputy Spokesman: No,
just look at the website. It
shows you what it expects from
incoming members. Have a
good afternoon, everyone.
On October
7 Judge Vernon S. Broderick
allowed Ng to remain under
house arrest, at least pending
sentencing. Ng's $4 million
47th Street apartment, across
the street from what was the
office of his South South
News, was called "not large"
despite its 3,100 square feet.
On August 7, he was allowed to
remain out of jail. In the
hearing, which Inner City
Press attended, it emerged
that Ng has had a closed-door
masseuse four to ten hours a
day, who also cooked for Ng's
guards for "Guidepost
Solutions LLC," whose Brendan
P. Finn acknowledged visitors
are not body searched and
conversations in Chinese are
not understood. Inner City
Press rushed north to the UN
and at Secretary General
Antonio Guterres' spokesman's
noon briefing asked for a list
of any UN affiliated person
has visited or had contact
with Ng since his indictment
in October 2015. Video here.
The spokesman, Stephane
Duajrric, said no, apparently
without checking. Ng has hired
Paul D. Clement for his
appeal. It's a nice life if
you've got money. More to
follow. Inner City Press began
asking the UN about the people
still at the UN who were shown
to have worked for or taking
money from Ng, or both. So far
the UN has done nothing. For
example, the trial exposed the
role of Carlos Garcia, former
Salvadoran Ambassador and
since then a bridge for NGOs,
in helping "free" Lorenzo's
bribe money from Ng. On August
4, Inner City Press asked UN
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript
here: Inner City Press:
has to do with the Ng Lap Seng
case, believe it or not.
In the case, among the
evidence that… that came out
leading to the guilty verdict
was evidence of former
Permanent Representative of El
Salvador, Carlos Garcia,
assisting Francis Lorenzo in
getting ill-gotten gains
released from the Dominican
Republic. I've asked you
about him before because,
since serving as a permanent
representative, he seems to be
a kind of bridge to NGOs
[non-governmental
organizations]. He had
an NGO called Global
Governance for the
UNSDGs. I still see him
around 1B squiring people
around. So, my request
to you is, given… and, again I
don't know if OIOS [Office of
Internal Oversight Services]
tracked the case or not.
Given what was shown on the
screen and put into evidence
regarding his assistance in
Mr. Francis Lorenzo getting
bribe money released, does he
have some, he has some kind of
a pass. Is there some
kind of emeritus status for
diplomats, or how it does it
work?
Spokesman: I'm not aware
of any em… emeritus, yeah,
emeritus status except for
journalists, so I will look
into it. Thank you.
We'll see
- and we'll follow up. For
further example, during the
trial an email was shown that
current UN official Meena Sur
emailed back and forth helping
on the brochure for Ng's
fraudulent UN conference
center. But even today,
in the Department of General
Assembly and Conference
Management organogram,
Meena Sur is the chief of the
"Documents Management
Section." Documents for Ng Lap
Seng. There is a history here:
for the Dominican Republic
mission, that is Francis
Lorenzo, Meena Sur was also
involved with a shadowy IGO
"World Sports Alliance,"
heavily involved in mining but
not sports. See for example this:
"The World Sports Alliance
(WSA) team briefed President
Leonel Fernandez on his 19th
September visit to Baruch
College of the City University
of New York during Hispanic
Heritage Month. The World
Sports Alliance is a
multi-stakeholder partnership
launched by XL Generation
Foundation, Give Them a Hand
Foundation, and the Informal
Regional Network of the NGO
Section/DESA that uses sports
to create local economic
development and achieve the
Millennium Development Goals.
Ambassador Francis Lorenzo of
the Mission of the Dominican
Republic to the UN facilitated
the meeting. Ms. Meena Sur,
Programme Officer of the NGO
Section/DESA, Mr. Gordon
Tapper,
President of Give them a Hand
Foundation, as well as Mr.
Alain Lemieux, President of
the WSA, attended the
President’s speech at the
college as Special Guests of
thePermanent Mission of the
Dominican Republic." More on
this soon - who in the UN
Office of Internal Oversight
Services followed up on any of
this? The UN is corrupt - and
incompetent. DGACM's UN
Journal for August 3 calls
that day, a Thursday,
"Tuesday." Photo here.
We will continue on this.
Where is OIOS under Heidi
Mendoza? They never followed
up on the blatant conflict of
interest of DPI chief Gallach,
who appears in OIOS' own
cover-up audit of the Ng Ashe
affair, in evicting Inner City
Press, and leaving it still
restricted. The UN is corrupt.
UN
Deputy
Spokesman
Farhan Haq who
has repeatedly
dodged
questions
about the case
from Inner
City Press was
quoted
by Reuters
that the UN
was "a victim
of these
crimes" and later
that "We are
exploring the
possibility of
requesting
restitution as
a victim to
these crimes,
including
recovering
expenses
incurred to
provide the
requested
cooperation."
On July
31, Inner City
Press asked Haq's also
holdover boss
Stephane
Dujarric to
explain how
this could be,
UN transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: last
week, as you
know, Ng Lap
Seng was found
guilty in one
day on six
charges of
bribery,
foreign
corrupt
practices act,
money-laundering.
And I just
want… I really
want to
understand
this.
I've been
looking at the
idea that the
UN will be…
is… considers
itself a
victim of the
case and will
be requesting
restitution as
a
victim.
And I wanted
to
understand.
It was said by
Farhan [Haq],
and I didn't
have a chance
to ask him
about… is this
just OLA
[Office of
Legal Affairs]
trying to… in
the same way
as Haiti
cholera, cover
itself by
saying we're a
victim, we
bear no
responsibility,
or is it
literally
António
Guterres'
position that
the UN should
be paid for a
process in
which its own
DGACM
[Department of
General
Assembly and
Conference
Management]
gave a
document to
the guy?
There are
still people
here that
worked on the
proposal… I
want to
understand…
Spokesman:
I think the
overall point
is that the UN
was used for
what it
appears for
criminal
activity by
the gentleman
who was found
guilty.
Inner
City Press:
Right, but
what about the
office
South-South
Cooperation?
Is there any
guilt on the
side of the UN
side? Mr.
Yiping Zhu
that left
immediately
upon the
indictment,
is… was he
victimized?
Did he not
understand
what he was
doing?
Spokesman:
Mr. Yiping Zhu
is no longer a
staff member
of this
organization.
Inner
City Press:
Right, but
doesn't an
organization
have some
responsibility
for what its
people do?
Spokesman:
I will leave
it at that.
We
won't. Inner
City Press
asked UN
Spokesman Haq
on July 28
to explain how
the UN is the
victim, and
how it dares
say it should
be get for
corruption.
Video 8
from Minute
8:40. Haq
said, This is
the position
of our Legal
Council. Now
Inner City Press
has asked
above. Watch
this site. The
UN even
refused to
tell the
prosecution
whom it spoke
to for its
Task Force
Report, which
said it has no
ethical
standards. The
UN will ask
for money,
while paying
nothing to the
10,000 people
it killed in
Haiti? Reuters
doesn't even
raise that -
it has a
conflict of
interest.
UN official
Ion Butnaru
put the name
of Ng's
company Sun
Kian Ip Group
into a General
Assembly
resolution
long after it
was voted on,
took a free
trip to Macau
and an iPad
there. Victim?
Ng's company
South South
News bought
full page ads
in the ball
program of the
UN
Correspondents
Association,
then went to
their ball at
Cipriani and
got photos
with then
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon.
(Reuters then
as now had a
seat on UNCA's
board,
something not
disclosed in
its coverage
of Ng and the
UN). A current
UN official
Meena Sur was
shown in the
trial to have
held on Ng's
brochure for
his planned
Macau
conference
Center. The UN
remains
UNreformed.
Inner City
Press, which
has covered
the scandal
from the
beginning and
remains
restricted by
the UN for its
coverage,
rushed down to
the courthouse
and asked Ng
Lap Seng, as
he left by the
side door to
Worth Street,
what he thinks
of the UN and
those there
who took his
money and
favors, a list
well beyond
John Ashe and
Francis
Lorenzo.
Periscope
video here.
He did not
answer,
understandable.
He will be
back in court
on August 7
for arguments
on if his
house arrest
can continue.
Before Ng
left, Inner
City Press
witnessed his
lawyers
leaving. They
told the judge
they will
appeal. But
now that Ng is
guilty, will
the UN act on
those exposed
as corrupt,
and reverse
its
censorship?
Ng Lap
Seng's $3 billion UN
convention center plan had
been assisted by Meena Sur,
still working for the UN
Department of General Assembly
and Conference Management.
Inner City Press asked the UN
spokesman Farhan Haq, who
dodged by saying the UN was
waiting for the verdict. But
the UN is not on trial,
because it has and cited
immunity.
Likewise, high UN
official Navid
Hanif attended Ng Lap
Seng's murky event in Macau in
August 2015, and remains at at
the UN. Spokesman Haq refused
to answer about him, while
telling Inner City Press that
lower UN staff member Frances
Fuller “separated from
service” in September 2016,
just after Inner City Press
asked about her.
Francis Lorenzo,
who took more money from Ng
than the now deceased John
Ashe, was given
a UN.org email address by
DGACM despite never being
pictured among Ashe's Special
Advisers, and never giving up
his day job as the Dominican
Republic's Deputy Permanent
Representative.
Even on July 26,
DGACM's Executive Officer told
Inner City Press that the UN
still hands such UN credential
to anyone whom a President of
the General Assembly tells
them too. So nothing has been
reformed.
The Department of
Public Information under Cristina
Gallach took Ng Lap
Seng's money for its slavery
memorial, and allowed fraudulent
events in the UN lobby.
But UN lead spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, who allowed the
content of Ng's South South
News to be included in UNTV
archives under his watch, said
this was just an issue of
“judgment,” not malfeasance.
The UN
Correspondents Association, to
whom Dujarric “lent”
the UN Press Briefing Room
then evicted and still
restricts Inner City Press for
seeking to cover the event
to see if they discussed
taking South South News' money
and providing a venue for Ng's
photo op with Ban Ki-moon, did
not have a single member
correspondent covering the
month-long UN bribery case.
Other dubious events were
being hosted.
And so, while
awaiting the jury's verdict on
Ng Lap Seng - which may be not
guilty given how corrupt the
UN and the star witness
against him Francis Lorenzo
have been shown to be - it is
clear that the UN has not
reformed and remains
corruption and a censor, seven
months into the reign of “new”
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres. It is the UN that
should be prosecuted, or
invited to leave. Watch this
site.
Legal footnotes:
counsel to Ng Lap Seng, Park
Jensen Bennett, Partners Tai H
Park and Douglas Jensen in New
York; and Alexandra Shapiro in
New York; Assistant US
attorneys Douglas Zolkind,
Janis Echenberg and Daniel
Richenthal of the US
Attorney’s Office, David Last,
on detail with the criminal
division fraud section's FCPA
unit.
***
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