US DOJ Unseals Criminal Charges Against Hong Kong National and Former Foreign Minister of Senegal China Investigates Chairman of Sponsoring Organization

On November 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed a criminal complaint against Chi Ping Patrick Ho, the head of a non-governmental organization (“Energy NGO”), which holds “Special Consultative Status” with the United Nations (“UN”) and is funded by a Chinese oil and gas conglomerate, CEFC China Energy Company Limited (“CEFC”) , and Cheikh Gadio the former Foreign Minister of Senegal. Mr. Ho and Mr. Gadio were both charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), two counts of violating the FCPA, one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering. Mr. Ho also was charged with two additional counts of violating the FCPA and one additional count of money laundering for an additional alleged bribery scheme that did not involve Mr. Gadio. The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and both Mr. Ho and Mr. Gadio have been arrested. In January 2018, Mr. Ho pleaded not guilty to the charges.