The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted two naturalised citizens of the Marshall Islands for running a multi-year money laundering and bribery scheme—via a UN-linked non-profit organisation—to support the creation of a special economic zone within the Pacific country.
One expert says the incident is an example of Beijing’s efforts to destabilise democratic institutions in the South Pacific where Western allies have locked horns with the Chinese Communist Party for influence in the region.
On Sept. 2, the Department of Justice issued the indictment revealing that Cary Yan, 50, and Gina Zhou, 34, were both extradited from Thailand to New York to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Naomi Reice Buchwold on Sept. 6….