John Ashe, a former United Nations General Assembly president accused by USA prosecutors of taking $1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen, has died at age 61, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
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Paul Ashe said his older brother died in the United States. He gave no other details.
In a statement Wednesday, current U.N. General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft described Ashe as a “hard-working and popular member of the diplomatic corps in NY and at the United Nations” before he faced the unproven allegations.
He was accused past year by U.S. federal authorities of turning the position into a “platform for profit”.
Ashe engaged in plea talks as recently as last month.
As a diplomat, Ashe was heavily involved in sustainable development issues, taking leadership roles in some of the major United Nations environmental agreements.
Prosecutors said Ashe also received more than $800,000 from Chinese businessmen to support their interests within the United Nations and Antigua.
Ashe’s attorney, Jeremy Schneider, called his client’s death “a tragic loss for his family and the community”.
Ashe is accused of underreporting his income by more than $1.2 million, prosecutors said. His attorney said he was planning to go to trial.
Earlier U.N. spokesman Dan Thomas told CNN that Ashe died of a heart attack.
Authorities say the billionaire filtered bribes through intermediaries such as his assistant Jeff Yin, who – like his boss – pleaded not guilty, and Dominican UN ambassador Francis Lorenzo, who has pleaded guilty and been suspended. Both women pleaded guilty in January.
Dr Ashe was arrested in October 2015 following a probe into a United Nations bribery scandal.
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Ashe’s death marked a surprising turn in the corruption investigation, in which seven people have been charged to date.
