Chinese billionaire in US custody 20 years after scandal
Source: AP
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — One of the world's wealthiest people — a Chinese real estate mogul at the center of a Democratic campaign fundraising scandal two decades ago — has been grounded from his fleet of private planes and stripped of his $200,000 watch after his incarceration without bail in Manhattan as U.S. investigators probe where his money goes.
Federal authorities have charged Ng Lap Seng, 68, with lying about his plans for $4.5 million in cash he brought into the U.S. over several years aboard private jets. They say they followed him enough to know he wasn't spending the cash at casinos, on art and antiques or on real estate, despite his claims to the contrary.
His lawyer, Kevin Tung, has argued that a criminal complaint charging Ng with conspiring to obstruct and making false statements to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is based on a misunderstanding.
"If you look at this complaint on its face, people carrying money in or out without filling out a form, maybe in violation of something, but this is not really a crime," he said. "The United States tries to portray this man as a very, very rich man. But I don't think that has any relevance here."
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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/418abd9771a54e11b1ad10d70c010119/chinese-billionaire-us-custody-20-years-after-scandal
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