| In UN
Bribery Case,
Ho Again Seeks
Bail, Saying
CEFC Is With
UN Like
Salvation Army
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video,
letter;
ICP in HK, here
UNITED NATIONS,
January 6 – On November 20, the
US Attorney for the Southern
District of New York issued an
indictment against the head of
the UN ECOSOC accredited China
Energy Fund Committee (CEFC)
Patrick Ho and former
Senegal
foreign
minister
Cheikh Gadio,
accused
together of bribing Chad's
President Idriss Deby (as well
as, for Ho, of bribing former UN
President of the General
Assembly Sam Kutesa, now as then
the foreign minister of Uganda).
Inner City Press has covered
the case and repeatedly asked
the UN why Secretary General
Antonio Guterres has not even
started an audit based on the
indictment, including of how
CEFC got its UN status and even
remains in the UN Global Compact
espousing anti-corruption goals.
But Guterres has done nothing.
Now Ho will be asking to be
released on bail on January 8,
and his argument includes that
he is the head of "UN
recognized" NGO similar, Ho's
brief argues, to the American
Bar Association, the Salvation
Army and the World Jewish
Congress. So the UN's inaction
is now part of UN bribery
indictee Ho's argument to be
released. The filing, dated
January 5, says Ho is "the
leader of a non-governmental
organization recognized by the
United Nations....After leaving
government service, Dr. Ho
became the Deputy Chairman and
Secretary General of the China
Energy Fund Committee (“CEFC”),
a Hong Kong based non
governmental organization that
has Special Consultative Status
with the United Nations Economic
and Social Council. Other
organizations with Special
Consultative Status include the
American Bar Association, the
Salvation Army, and the World
Jewish Congress." The proposal
is for Ho to be released on $10
million bond secured by $2
million in cash, into home
detention in Manhattan with
electronic monitoring. We'll
have more on this.
***
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