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Reuters

The assistant to a billionaire real estate developer from Macau accused of engaging in a scheme to pay bribes to a former United Nations General Assembly president is in plea talks, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
The negotiations involving Jeff Yin, who was arrested along with billionaire Ng Lap Seng in 2015, were disclosed in a letter filed in Manhattan federal court by his attorney, who said prosecutors had extended him a plea offer.
The lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, sought to extend court deadlines so that Yin, 31, could consider the plea offer, which “is complex and involves civil tax assessments and liabilities,” according to her letter.
The plea talks come ahead of a jury trial scheduled for May 15, in which Yin and his boss could face substantial prison time if convicted.
‘US charges against me are political’: Ng Lap Seng
It was unclear what charges Yin would have to plead guilty to if he accepted the offer. He had faced bribery, money laundering and tax-related charges, and was also accused of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Shroff declined comment. The US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which is pursuing the case, also declined comment.
Ng, who was once linked to a campaign fundraising investigation during former US president Bill Clinton’s administration, is one of seven individuals charged since October 2015 in the UN-related probe.
Prosecutors accuse Ng and Yin of paying more than US$500,000 in bribes to John Ashe, a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served as General Assembly president from 2013 to 2014. Ashe died in June awaiting trial.
The indictment said Ng and Yin also paid bribes to Francis Lorenzo, a then-deputy UN ambassador from the Dominican Republic who pleaded guilty in March 2016 to bribery and money laundering charges as part of a deal to cooperate in the probe.
US prosecutors targeting Ng Lap Seng reveal new charges - and his nickname
The main goal of the bribes, according to the indictment, was to have both ambassadors take steps to help obtain United Nations’ support for a multibillion-dollar UN-backed conference centre in Macau that Sun Kian Ip Group would develop.
Yin, a US citizen who currently lives in California, also faces charges for taking steps to evade paying income taxes and helping Lorenzo conceal portions of his income from U.S. tax authorities.
Ng, the founder of Macau-based real estate developer Sun Kian Ip Group, has denied wrongdoing. A lawyer for Ng declined to comment.


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Aide of Macau billionaire Ng Lap Seng negotiates a plea deal in UN bribe case

Ng Lap Seng, founder of the Sun Kian IP Group, is accused of bribing a former UN General Assembly president. Photo: Reuters

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Macau tycoon Ng Lap Seng is accused of involvement in a high-level bribery scandal at the UN. Photo: Reuters

Death of former UN Assembly president John Ashe, accused of taking bribes from Macau billionaire Ng Lap Seng

John Ashe, a former United Nations General Assembly president exits the US District Courthouse in New York last October after being charged with bribery. Photo: Reuters

David Ng (Ng Lap Seng), Chairman of the Sun Kian IP Group Foundation sits at the High-level Multi-Stakeholder Strategy Forum in Macau, China in this handout photo taken on August 25, 2015, provided by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. A U.S. judge revoked bail on September 29, 2015 for the aide to a billionaire real estate developer, after both men were arrested for lying about why they brought $4.5 million in cash into the United States while traveling from China. Jeff Yin, an assistant to Ng Lap Seng, had been set to be released on a $1 million bond and be placed under home confinement. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan ordered Yin detained, calling him "a significant risk of flight." REUTERS/United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY

Lawyer drops out of high-profile bribery case involving real estate mogul Ng Lap Seng

Benjamin Brafman was considered by many as Ng’s “ace in the hole”

Macau billionaire Ng Lap Seng pleads not guilty in UN bribery case, prosecutors appeal US$50 million bond release

Ng Lap Seng, a developer from the Chinese territory Macau is alleged to have paid US$500,000 in bribes. Photo: Reuters

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