Air China employee linked to Macau billionaire in bribery case faces own legal woes

By Staff Reporter | Apr 20, 2016 09:58 AM EDT

An employee of Air China who was linked to Ng Lap Seng, a Macau billionaire who was accused by US prosecutors of bribing a UN General Assembly president, has her own legal troubles.

The FBI searched the home of Air China Ltd. employee Ying Lin and seized 100 items including computers and jewellery, according to her lawyer at a hearing in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York , reported Reuters

The exact nature of the charges against Lin cannot be determined. Air China, where Lin has worked for 14 years and is its Newark station manager, was not included in the court action.

Assistant US Attorney Alexander Solomon, who belongs to a national security and cyber crime unit, said more charges may be filed against Lin, who has pleaded not guilty. The South China Morning Post reported that Lilibeth Bishop, spokeswoman for the state run carrier, said  it was "Air China's policy not to comment on matters that involve the US federal authorities."  

This is not the first time that Lin has been implicated in a case. In 2014, Lin was investigated in a suit involving real developer Ng Lap Seng who heads Sun Kian Ip Group. Billionaire Ng and his assistant Jeff Yin were arrested for making false statements to customs officials why they brought $4.5M into the US from China.

They were charged in engaging in a scheme to bribe John Ashe, a former UN General Assembly president, who allegedly accepted US$1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen to support their interests within the United Nations, NDTV reported.

According to court papers, Yin was included in the case because she escorted Ng from an April 2014 flight into New York, in which Ng brought $300,000 in cash with him. Authorities say he falsely claimed it was for gambling in Las Vegas or buying art and antiques in New York.  

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