Ex-president demands answers over Marshall Islands ‘mini-state plot’
by Mar-Vic Cagurangan in Guam and Helen Davidson in T from World news | The Guardian on (#63CXG)
Hilda Heine calls for investigation into Chinese couple's alleged effort to bribe officials to support scheme
A former president of the Marshall Islands has called for an investigation into an alleged plot by a Chinese couple to establish a mini-state inside its borders and set it up as a lucrative tax-break haven.
The pair were charged by US prosecutors with bribery and money-laundering offences over a multi-year scheme" that included establishing a non-governmental organisation, allegedly bribing five Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) officials and attempting to bribe a sixth. One of the five was allegedly given cash to bribe others into supporting the carving out of a Hong Kong-style territory.
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