UNITED NATIONS, Oct 09 2015 – United Nations Secretary general Ban Ki-moon has called on the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) to launch an internal probe into corruption allegations against former Antiguan Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. John Ashe.
Ashe, 61, served in 2013 as president of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Ban said that he wants an audit of the interaction between the UN and the Global Sustainability Foundation and the Sun Kian Ip Group, and the use of any funds received from these entities.
US federal prosecutors said that Ashe and a Chinese billionaire real estate developer from the territory of Macau were arrested and accused of engaging in a broad corruption scheme.
Ashe was one of six people identified in a criminal complaint outlining a bribery scheme that involved more than one million US dollars in payments from sources in China for assistance in real estate deals and other business interests.
Prior to his appointment as leader of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, Ashe was Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the UN.
The complaint alleges a broad pattern of corruption by Ashe, who is accused of using the bribes to support a lavish lifestyle: spending US$59,000 on hand-tailored suits in Hong Kong in 2013 and 2014, buying two Rolex watches in 2014 for US$54,000, and later that year paying US$40,000 to lease a new BMW X5.
He also bought a membership at a South Carolina country club for US$69,000, and solicited money to construct a US$30,000 basketball court at his home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, according to the complaint.
Top UN officials said earlier this week that they were “shocked” and “deeply troubled” to learn about the “very serious allegations” announced by United States’ federal prosecutors against Ashe.
Former prime minister Baldwin Spencer has said he will make a statement on Friday on the issue.
