Patrick Ho Chi-ping, former Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, was found guilty by a federal jury in New York of bribing government officials in Uganda and Chad on behalf of a Chinese energy company.
Ho alleged the money he offered these officials were merely charitable donations.
A jury for the Southern District of New York convicted Ho, 69, for offering $2 million to the president of Chad to facilitate oil rights for CEFC China Energy, one of China's largest oil and gas firms with links to the People's Liberation Army. Ho was also found guilty of offering $500,000 to the foreign minister of Uganda to secure a banking deal for CEFC China Energy.
Ho was charged on five counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and three counts of money laundering involving bribes amounting to $2.9 million. New York prosecutors successfully argued the bribes were in exchange for securing oil rights and development opportunities for CEFC China Energy in the two African countries.
Ho was also charged with conspiring with the consultant and former Senegalese minister Cheikh Gadio to violate two different FCPA statutes. Ho was convicted on seven of eight counts of bribery and money laundering over oil rights for CEFC China Energy. Ho was acquitted of the Chad money-laundering charge, however.
The maximum penalty for each count ranges from five to 20 years' imprisonment. Since Ho pleaded not guilty to all the charges, he will face a heavier jail sentence than if he had cooperated.
The jury didn't find that the payments were a charitable contribution, as claimed by Ho. They found it to be a bribe. One of the jurors said they had little doubt about Ho's criminal intent, which explains why it took them only three hours of deliberation to reach a verdict.
Ho was arrested on Nov. 18, 2017, at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York and has been in custody for more than a year. He was subsequently indicted.
Asked about the jury's decision, Ho replied, "Expected. It's like that." He also thanked his friends in Hong Kong for their support.
A champion of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Ho became deputy secretary general of a think tank financed by CEFC China Energy. He was Hong Kong's home affairs minister from 2002 to 2007.
China describes BRI as its bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future. On the other hand, skeptics see BRI a blatant push for Chinese dominance in global affairs with a China-centered trading network.
