Ex-HK official denied bail in US corruption charges
 

NEW YORK: A US judge on Monday refused to release a former Hong Kong government official on bail while he faces charges that he took part in a scheme to bribe officials in Chad and Uganda in exchange for contracts for a Chinese energy company.
Lawyers for Chi Ping Patrick Ho, 68, had sought to have him released on a $10 million bond and placed under house arrest in Manhattan, subject to electronic monitoring, but US District Judge Katherine Forrest said that was not enough to ensure that Ho would not flee the country.
She said Ho?s lawyers were free to make another bail proposal in the future. Ho?s lawyer, Edward Kim, declined to comment on the ruling. Ho, a former Hong Kong home affairs secretary, was arrested in November and has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating US foreign corruption law, money laundering and conspiracy.Prosecutors have said Ho arranged bribes on behalf of a Chinese energy company that funds an organization he leads. Ho is secretary general of the Hong Kong-based China Energy Fund Committee, which describes itself as a charitable non-government organization.

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