Ho Schemed to Bribe the President of Chad, President and
Foreign Minister of Uganda
Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of
the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced that CHI PING PATRICK HO,
a/k/a “Patrick C.P. Ho,” a/k/a “He Zhiping,” was found guilty today after a
jury trial before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska of participating in a
multi-year, multimillion-dollar scheme to bribe top officials of Chad and
Uganda in exchange for business advantages for CEFC China Energy Company
Limited (“CEFC China”). HO was convicted
of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), international
money laundering, and conspiracy to commit both. HO is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge
Preska on March 14, 2019, at 10:00 a.m.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Patrick Ho now stands convicted of scheming
to pay millions in bribes to foreign leaders in Chad and Uganda, all as part of
his efforts to corruptly secure unfair business advantages for a
multibillion-dollar Chinese energy company.
As the jury’s verdict makes clear, Ho’s repeated attempts to corrupt
foreign leaders were not business as usual, but criminal efforts to undermine
the fairness of international markets and erode the public’s faith in its
leaders.”
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski: “Patrick Ho paid millions of dollars in
bribes to the leaders of two African countries to secure contracts for a
Chinese conglomerate. Today’s trial
conviction demonstrates the Criminal Division’s commitment to prosecuting those
who seek to utilize our financial system to secure unfair competition
advantages through corruption and bribery.”
According to the Indictment, evidence presented at trial,
and other public proceedings in the case:
Overview
HO was involved in two bribery schemes to pay top officials
of Chad and Uganda in exchange for business advantages for CEFC China, a
Shanghai-based multibillion-dollar conglomerate that operates internationally
in multiple sectors, including oil, gas, and banking. At the center of both schemes was HO, the
head of a non-governmental organization based in Hong Kong and Arlington,
Virginia, the China Energy Fund Committee (the “CEFC NGO”), which held “Special
Consultative Status” with the United Nations (“UN”) Economic and Social
Council. CEFC NGO was funded by CEFC
China.
In the first scheme (the “Chad Scheme”), HO, on behalf of
CEFC China, offered a $2 million cash bribe, hidden within gift boxes, to
Idriss Déby, the President of Chad, in an effort to obtain valuable oil rights
from the Chadian government. In the
second scheme (the “Uganda Scheme”), HO caused a $500,000 bribe to be paid, via
wires transmitted through New York, New York, to an account designated by Sam
Kutesa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, who had recently completed
his term as the President of the UN General Assembly. HO also schemed to pay a $500,000 cash bribe
to Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, and offered to provide both Kutesa
and Museveni with additional corrupt benefits by “partnering” with them in
future joint ventures in Uganda.
The Chad Scheme
The Chad Scheme began in or about September 2014 when HO
flew into New York, New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly. At that time, CEFC China was working to
expand its operations to Chad and wanted to meet with President Déby as quickly
as possible. Through a connection, HO
was introduced to Cheikh Gadio, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Senegal, who had a personal relationship with President Déby. HO and Gadio met at CEFC China’s suite at
Trump World Tower in midtown Manhattan, where HO enlisted Gadio to assist CEFC
China in obtaining access to President Déby.
Gadio connected HO and CEFC China to President Déby. In an initial meeting in Chad in November
2014, President Déby described to HO and CEFC China executives certain
lucrative oil rights that were available for CEFC China to acquire. Following that meeting, Gadio advised HO and
CEFC China to send a technical team to Chad to investigate the oil rights and
make an offer to President Déby. Instead, HO insisted on a prompt second
meeting with the President. The second
meeting took place a few weeks later, in December 2014. HO led a CEFC China delegation, which flew
into Chad on a corporate jet with $2 million cash concealed within several gift
boxes. At the conclusion of a business
meeting with President Déby, HO and the CEFC China executives presented
President Déby with the gift boxes.
To the surprise of HO and the CEFC China executives,
President Déby rejected the $2 million bribe offer. HO subsequently drafted a letter to President
Déby claiming that the cash had been intended as a donation to Chad. Ultimately, HO and CEFC China did not obtain
the unfair advantage that they had sought through the bribe offer, and by
mid-2015, HO had turned his attention to a different “gateway to Africa”:
Uganda.
The Uganda Scheme
The Uganda Scheme began around the same time as the Chad
Scheme, when HO was in New York, New York for the annual UN General
Assembly. HO met with Sam Kutesa, who
had recently begun his term as the 69th President of the UN General Assembly
(“PGA”). HO, purporting to act on behalf
of CEFC NGO, met with Kutesa and began to cultivate a relationship with him. During the year that Kutesa served as PGA, HO
and Kutesa discussed a “strategic partnership” between Uganda and CEFC China
for various business ventures, to be formed once Kutesa completed his term as
PGA and returned to Uganda.
In or about February 2016 – after Kutesa had returned to
Uganda and resumed his role as Foreign Minister, and Yoweri Museveni (Kutesa’s
relative) had been reelected as the President of Uganda – Kutesa solicited a
payment from HO, purportedly for a charitable foundation that Kutesa wished to
launch. HO agreed to provide the
requested payment, but simultaneously requested, on behalf of CEFC China, an
invitation to Museveni’s inauguration, business meetings with President
Museveni and other high-level Ugandan officials, and a list of specific
business projects in Uganda that CEFC China could participate in.
In May 2016, HO and CEFC China executives traveled to
Uganda. Prior to departing, HO caused
the CEFC NGO to wire $500,000 to the account provided by Kutesa in the name of
the so-called “foundation,” which wire was transmitted through banks in New
York, New York. HO also advised his
boss, the Chairman of CEFC China, to provide $500,000 in cash to President
Museveni, ostensibly as a campaign donation, even though Museveni had already
been reelected. HO intended these
payments as bribes to influence Kutesa and Museveni to use their official power
to steer business advantages to CEFC China.
HO and CEFC China executives attended President Museveni’s
inauguration and obtained business meetings in Uganda with President Museveni
and top Ugandan officials, including at the Department of Energy and Mineral
Resources. After the trip, HO requested
that Kutesa and Museveni assist CEFC China in acquiring a Ugandan bank, as an
initial step before pursuing additional ventures in Uganda. HO also explicitly offered to “partner” with
Kutesa and Museveni and/or their “family businesses,” making clear that both
officials would share in CEFC China’s future profits. In exchange for the bribes offered and paid
by HO, Kutesa thereafter steered a bank acquisition opportunity to CEFC China.
*
* *
HO, 69, of Hong Kong, China, was convicted of one count of
conspiring to violate the FCPA, four counts of violating the FCPA, one count of
conspiring to commit international money laundering, and one count of
committing international money laundering.
The maximum penalties for these charges are as follows: five years in
prison for conspiring to violate the FCPA; five years in prison for each
violation of the FCPA; 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit
international money laundering; and 20 years in prison for committing
international money laundering. HO was
acquitted of one count of international money laundering.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed
by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the
sentencing of HO will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal
Investigation. He also thanked the
Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the
Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public
Corruption Unit and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, FCPA Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas S. Zolkind,
Daniel C. Richenthal, and Catherine E. Ghosh, and Trial Attorney Paul A. Hayden
of the Fraud Section, are in charge of the prosecution.
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