澳門富商吳立勝行賄聯合國官員罪名成立
A US court has convicted a Chinese billionaire of bribing two senior UN diplomats to help him gain backing for a conference centre in Macau, a case that highlights the trading of cash for influence at the international body.
美國一家法院認定一名中國億萬富豪有罪，罪名是向兩名資深聯合國(UN)外交官提供賄賂，以換取對方支持他在澳門興建一座會議中心。該案凸顯了這個國際機構中以金錢換取影響力現象的存在。Ng Lap Seng, 69, faces a possible prison sentence of more than 60 years after a federal court in New York City convicted him of six charges including bribery, money-laundering and corruption.
紐約市一家聯邦法院認定現年69歲的吳立勝(Ng Lap Seng)被指控的六項罪名（包括行賄、洗錢和腐敗）成立，他可能被判處逾60年的監禁。Prosecutors said the bribes went to former UN General Assembly president and Antiguan diplomat John Ashe, who in 2012 introduced a document at the UN in support of Mr Ng’s real estate project.
檢方表示，收受賄賂的是聯合國大會(UN General Assembly)前主席、安提瓜外交官約翰?阿什(John Ashe)。2012年，此人在聯合國引入了一份文檔，支持吳立勝的地產項目。
Mr Ashe was charged in 2015 with taking $1.2m in bribes from Mr Ng, but months later was found dead in his home from injuries suffered when a barbell he was lifting from a bench dropped on his neck.
2015年，阿什被指控收受吳立勝120萬美元的賄賂。但幾個月後，他被發現死在家裏，死因是長椅上舉起槓鈴時，槓鈴砸到脖子上造成的重傷。Prosecutors accused Mr Ng of paying bribes to gain UN endorsement for a project in the Chinese territory of Macau that he billed as the “Geneva of Asia”. The project, set to include a conference centre, shopping facilities and real estate developments, was never built.
檢方指控吳立勝爲獲得聯合國對他在澳門的一個項目的支持而行賄。他把該項目稱爲“亞洲日內瓦”。該項目原計劃包括一個會議中心、購物場所和地產開發，始終沒有開工建設。Francis Lorenzo, a former deputy ambassador to the UN from the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty this year to funnelling money from Mr Ng to Mr Ashe, telling jurors that the bribery scheme ran for five years beginning in 2010.
今年，多米尼加共和國前駐聯合國副大使弗朗西斯?洛倫佐(Francis Lorenzo)承認有罪，罪名是把吳立勝的賄金轉給阿什。當時他告訴陪審員，賄賂始於2010年，延續了5年。
Mr Lorenzo said Mr Ng paid him up to $30,000 a month with instructions to ensure that the Chinese tycoon’s construction company was named by the UN as the builder of the Macau centre.
洛倫佐表示，吳立勝每月給他多達3萬美元的資金，要求確保這位中國大亨的建築公司被指定爲前述澳門中心的建築商。Mr Ng’s lawyers said the Macau project would have been home to the South-South Expo, a forum for developing nations, adding that the Macau plan was “philanthropic” and in line with public-private partnerships often undertaken by the UN.
吳立勝的律師表示，澳門項目原本打算作爲南南合作博覽會(South-South Expo)的會址。他們補充說，澳門方案是“慈善性質的”，符合聯合國經常採取的公私合營模式。Mr Ng was unemotional when the verdict was delivered, according to the Associated Press. His lawyers have vowed to appeal.
美聯社(AP)報道稱，當罪名宣告成立時，吳立勝沒有流露出什麼情緒。他的律師已表示要提起上訴。Because authorities judge him to be at risk of fleeing the US, Mr Ng, who was previously bailed for $50m, will be held under effective house arrest in a luxury Manhattan apartment ahead of sentencing.
由於當局覺得他有可能逃離美國，之前以5000萬美元獲得保釋的吳立勝，將被軟禁在曼哈頓的一座豪華公寓中，直至法院做出判決。
