Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The former heads of a New York-based non-governmental organization, who were extradited earlier this year to the United States from Thailand, have pleaded guilty to bribing Marshall Islands officials in exchange for passing legislation to benefit their business interests.
Cary Yan, 50, and Gina Zhou, 34, pleaded guilty Thursday before District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Justice Department announced in a release.
According to court documents, the pair conducted the bribery and money laundering scheme from at least the start of 2016 until August of 2020, during which they paid tens of thousands of dollars to Marshall Islands elected officials to pass legislation in support of creating the so-called Rongelap Atoll Special Administrative Region.
The plan, which the Marshall Islands legislature passed in 2020, would change laws for the Rongelap Atoll region to make it more attractive to foreign investors, including taxation and immigration laws.
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