Ng Sponsored UN Slavery Concert in 2009, Then 2011 Ban UNCA Photos
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, October 30 -- As the scandal triggered by the indictment of Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng, former UN President of the General Assembly John Ashe, Frank Lorenzo and Sheri Yan continues to expand, Inner City Press has dug deeper into a earlier scandal it reported earlier in Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's tenure, in 2009.
In October of that day there was a concert in the GA Hall called “Breaking the Silence, Beating the Drum,” for the victims of slavery. At the time, Inner City Press discovered, and gain an on-camera admission, that another businessman Frank Liu had paid $110,000, through a theater company, to “sponsor” the event, in exchange for photographs with Ban Ki-moon. Click here for that. Inner City Press interviewed Liu, who complained that after the exposure, he was denied Ban and got only lesser UN photos.
But there's more.
Inner City Press has learned that the reason for the middleman was that the UN had (rightly) expressed qualms about accepting the money directly. But then Ban's UN allowed or even encouraged an evasion of its own prohibition: Liu or the World Harmony Foundation funneled the money through a middleman, as would become more prevalent later in Ban's time as Secretary General.
And now there's even more.
While it seemed until today that the corruption of the “Breaking the Silence” concert, and of UN Peacekeeping Day for which Liu was officially given photo ops and a tour by UN Peacekeeping of its Situation Center, were limited to Frank Liu, there was another more powerful force behind this World Harmony Foundation:
David Ng, a/k/a Ng Lap Seng (as noted in last month's FBI charge sheet), a/k/a Mr. Wu, to many delegations at the UN.
Inner City Press today is putting online, here, the program from the “Breaking the Silence” event, which list as sponsor the World Harmony Foundation, President Frank Liu and Chairman... David Ng.
Since in the same time frame the UN took Liu's money openly for UN Peacekeepers Day, it appears to some that the UN's qualms even in 2009 were with David Ng. This would have been understandable, given Ng's involvement in Clinton campaign contribution scandal and exposure for running, in essence, a brothel. But this makes the UN allowing Ng to funnel money in through the theater company even worse.
It also makes Ban's decision to try to limit the Office of Internal Oversight Services' audit to Sun Kian Ip Foundation, a much more recent Ng vehicle, laughable or worse. Ng has been buying events and photos in Ban's UN since at least 2009. This must be investigated. This too:
In 2011, Ng's South South News gave money to the UN Correspondents Association, which then not only gave South South News an UNCA “award” but gave Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon, at the UNCA “ball” in December 2011 at Cipriani 42nd Street. (Inner City Press filmed, published and questioned it, here.) This year, UNCA moves its event further from the UN, perhaps tellingly to Cipriani Wall Street. Will this sleaze simply continue?
As detailed below, South South News made payments to the UN Correspondents Association, which then "delivered" Ban Ki-moon for photo ops with its businessmen. (Ironically, UNCA Executive Committee minutes after the delivery complained, disingenuously, that "some of the Asian guests were quite aggressive getting photos with the SG... congratulate Giampaolo for his hard work.")
Photo ops with Ban Ki-moon and his top officials have been similarly available throughout his tenure. Back in 2009 Inner City Press reported on businessman Frank Liu (here with General, ICP story, photo), who paid over $100,000 for a concert for UN Peacekeeping:
"Ban's pre-concert photo op, it emerged, had initially had three phases: artists, member states then sponsor. The last was officially cut out. But witnesses at the photo op, with the
Original Title
David Ng Sponsored UN Concert in 2009: Inner City Press Investigates
Ng Sponsored UN Slavery Concert in 2009, Then 2011 Ban UNCA Photos
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, October 30 -- As the scandal triggered by the indictment of Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng, former UN President of the General Assembly John Ashe, Frank Lorenzo and Sheri Yan continues to expand, Inner City Press has dug deeper into a earlier scandal it reported earlier in Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's tenure, in 2009.
In October of that day there was a concert in the GA Hall called “Breaking the Silence, Beating the Drum,” for the victims of slavery. At the time, Inner City Press discovered, and gain an on-camera admission, that another businessman Frank Liu had paid $110,000, through a theater company, to “sponsor” the event, in exchange for photographs with Ban Ki-moon. Click here for that. Inner City Press interviewed Liu, who complained that after the exposure, he was denied Ban and got only lesser UN photos.
But there's more.
Inner City Press has learned that the reason for the middleman was that the UN had (rightly) expressed qualms about accepting the money directly. But then Ban's UN allowed or even encouraged an evasion of its own prohibition: Liu or the World Harmony Foundation funneled the money through a middleman, as would become more prevalent later in Ban's time as Secretary General.
And now there's even more.
While it seemed until today that the corruption of the “Breaking the Silence” concert, and of UN Peacekeeping Day for which Liu was officially given photo ops and a tour by UN Peacekeeping of its Situation Center, were limited to Frank Liu, there was another more powerful force behind this World Harmony Foundation:
David Ng, a/k/a Ng Lap Seng (as noted in last month's FBI charge sheet), a/k/a Mr. Wu, to many delegations at the UN.
Inner City Press today is putting online, here, the program from the “Breaking the Silence” event, which list as sponsor the World Harmony Foundation, President Frank Liu and Chairman... David Ng.
Since in the same time frame the UN took Liu's money openly for UN Peacekeepers Day, it appears to some that the UN's qualms even in 2009 were with David Ng. This would have been understandable, given Ng's involvement in Clinton campaign contribution scandal and exposure for running, in essence, a brothel. But this makes the UN allowing Ng to funnel money in through the theater company even worse.
It also makes Ban's decision to try to limit the Office of Internal Oversight Services' audit to Sun Kian Ip Foundation, a much more recent Ng vehicle, laughable or worse. Ng has been buying events and photos in Ban's UN since at least 2009. This must be investigated. This too:
In 2011, Ng's South South News gave money to the UN Correspondents Association, which then not only gave South South News an UNCA “award” but gave Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon, at the UNCA “ball” in December 2011 at Cipriani 42nd Street. (Inner City Press filmed, published and questioned it, here.) This year, UNCA moves its event further from the UN, perhaps tellingly to Cipriani Wall Street. Will this sleaze simply continue?
As detailed below, South South News made payments to the UN Correspondents Association, which then "delivered" Ban Ki-moon for photo ops with its businessmen. (Ironically, UNCA Executive Committee minutes after the delivery complained, disingenuously, that "some of the Asian guests were quite aggressive getting photos with the SG... congratulate Giampaolo for his hard work.")
Photo ops with Ban Ki-moon and his top officials have been similarly available throughout his tenure. Back in 2009 Inner City Press reported on businessman Frank Liu (here with General, ICP story, photo), who paid over $100,000 for a concert for UN Peacekeeping:
"Ban's pre-concert photo op, it emerged, had initially had three phases: artists, member states then sponsor. The last was officially cut out. But witnesses at the photo op, with the
Ng Sponsored UN Slavery Concert in 2009, Then 2011 Ban UNCA Photos
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, October 30 -- As the scandal triggered by the indictment of Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng, former UN President of the General Assembly John Ashe, Frank Lorenzo and Sheri Yan continues to expand, Inner City Press has dug deeper into a earlier scandal it reported earlier in Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's tenure, in 2009.
In October of that day there was a concert in the GA Hall called “Breaking the Silence, Beating the Drum,” for the victims of slavery. At the time, Inner City Press discovered, and gain an on-camera admission, that another businessman Frank Liu had paid $110,000, through a theater company, to “sponsor” the event, in exchange for photographs with Ban Ki-moon. Click here for that. Inner City Press interviewed Liu, who complained that after the exposure, he was denied Ban and got only lesser UN photos.
But there's more.
Inner City Press has learned that the reason for the middleman was that the UN had (rightly) expressed qualms about accepting the money directly. But then Ban's UN allowed or even encouraged an evasion of its own prohibition: Liu or the World Harmony Foundation funneled the money through a middleman, as would become more prevalent later in Ban's time as Secretary General.
And now there's even more.
While it seemed until today that the corruption of the “Breaking the Silence” concert, and of UN Peacekeeping Day for which Liu was officially given photo ops and a tour by UN Peacekeeping of its Situation Center, were limited to Frank Liu, there was another more powerful force behind this World Harmony Foundation:
David Ng, a/k/a Ng Lap Seng (as noted in last month's FBI charge sheet), a/k/a Mr. Wu, to many delegations at the UN.
Inner City Press today is putting online, here, the program from the “Breaking the Silence” event, which list as sponsor the World Harmony Foundation, President Frank Liu and Chairman... David Ng.
Since in the same time frame the UN took Liu's money openly for UN Peacekeepers Day, it appears to some that the UN's qualms even in 2009 were with David Ng. This would have been understandable, given Ng's involvement in Clinton campaign contribution scandal and exposure for running, in essence, a brothel. But this makes the UN allowing Ng to funnel money in through the theater company even worse.
It also makes Ban's decision to try to limit the Office of Internal Oversight Services' audit to Sun Kian Ip Foundation, a much more recent Ng vehicle, laughable or worse. Ng has been buying events and photos in Ban's UN since at least 2009. This must be investigated. This too:
In 2011, Ng's South South News gave money to the UN Correspondents Association, which then not only gave South South News an UNCA “award” but gave Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon, at the UNCA “ball” in December 2011 at Cipriani 42nd Street. (Inner City Press filmed, published and questioned it, here.) This year, UNCA moves its event further from the UN, perhaps tellingly to Cipriani Wall Street. Will this sleaze simply continue?
As detailed below, South South News made payments to the UN Correspondents Association, which then "delivered" Ban Ki-moon for photo ops with its businessmen. (Ironically, UNCA Executive Committee minutes after the delivery complained, disingenuously, that "some of the Asian guests were quite aggressive getting photos with the SG... congratulate Giampaolo for his hard work.")
Photo ops with Ban Ki-moon and his top officials have been similarly available throughout his tenure. Back in 2009 Inner City Press reported on businessman Frank Liu (here with General, ICP story, photo), who paid over $100,000 for a concert for UN Peacekeeping:
"Ban's pre-concert photo op, it emerged, had initially had three phases: artists, member states then sponsor. The last was officially cut out. But witnesses at the photo op, with the