Former UN chief's relatives charged in US in bribery case

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon poses for a selfie photo with one of his staff members on his last day at the UN headquarters. Picture: Mary Altaffer/AP

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon poses for a selfie photo with one of his staff members on his last day at the UN headquarters. Picture: Mary Altaffer/AP

Published Jan 10, 2017

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New York - Two relatives of former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon have been indicted on US charges

that they engaged in a scheme to bribe a Middle Eastern official

in connection with the attempted $800 million sale of a building

complex in Vietnam.

Joo Hyun "Dennis" Bahn, a New York real estate broker who is

Ban Ki-Moon's nephew, and his father Ban Ki-sang, Ban Ki-moon's

brother who was a senior executive at South Korean construction

firm Keangnam Enterprises Co Ltd, were charged in an indictment

unsealed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

Bahn is in custody and expected to appear in court later on

Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara

said. Defense lawyers could not immediately be identified.

The charges came after Ban Ki-moon stepped down on Dec. 31

after serving two five-year terms as U.N. Secretary-General.

Ban Ki-moon was not charged. A former foreign minister of

South Korea, Ban is expected to enter the race to become the

country's next president, though he has yet to declare his

intention to do so.

He could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to the indictment, in 2013, Keangnam was facing a

liquidity crisis and turned to Bahn to secure an investor for a

Vietnamese building complex called Landmark 72 in exchange for a

potential $5 million commission.

Rather than obtain financing legitimately, Bahn and Ban

Ki-sang engaged in a scheme to pay bribes to an unnamed Middle

Eastern official to convince his country's sovereign wealth fund

to acquire Landmark 72, the indictment said.

The bribes were paid through Malcolm Harris, a

self-described arts and fashion consultant and blogger who was

also charged and who the indictment said claimed to be an agent

of the official.

Based on communications with Harris, in April 2014, Bahn and

Ban Ki-sang agreed to pay an upfront $500,000 bribe and another

$2 million upon the sale's closing, the indictment said.

But Harris did not have the relationship he claimed with the

official, the indictment said, and stole the $500,000, which he

spent lavishly.

As Keangnam's liquidity crisis worsened, Bahn - believing

the bribe had been paid and would work out - schemed to trick

Keangnam and its creditors into believing the sovereign wealth

fund was close to acquiring Landmark 72, the indictment said.

But when the deal ultimately failed to materialize, Keangnam

entered into court receivership in South Korea, according to

court papers. 

Reuters

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