Page 24 - Islands Business October 2023 edition

Special Report Special Report

worked for Lorenzo in his dealings with Yan and Zhou. to a cache of internal photos obtained by reporters. One
“He made a mistake, obviously,” Garcia said, summing up delegation, from the U.N. mission for Sierra Leone, was gifted
the attitude of many in the U.N. “But that doesn’t mean that an oversized check for $50,000 during one 2017 visit in order
he’s not a human being, a good person, too.” to help the country recover from flooding. (The mission did
Lorenzo was still able to freely walk the halls of the not respond to questions.)
institution at that time, and only lost his U.N. ID several
years later, when it expired in August 2018, U.N. spokesman ‘Lots of Gold’
Dujarric confirmed in response to reporters’ questions. The ECOSOC accreditation obtained by Yan and Zhou’s
Meanwhile, interviews and documents show that organization allowed it to organize a succession of U.N.
Lorenzo’s help to Yan and Zhou at the U.N. was facilitated events, starting with a glitzy launch in September 2016 during
by repurposing the same pay-for-play network he had used the meeting of the 71st Session of the General Assembly.
in the previous scheme to bribe Ashe. This included a staff Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina was the keynote
of at least three employees who worked on tasks like web speaker, and actor-cum-crooner Robert Davi was the main
administration and event management. entertainment. (Bangladesh’s U.N. mission and Davi did not
Among the services he delivered was at least one more respond to questions.)
photo-op for Yan with Secretary-General Ban. But what Yan A pattern was soon set.
and Zhou really wanted was a more formal association with With Lorenzo’s extensive contact book, WOGC reached
the U.N., according to interviews and emails obtained by out to cash-strapped diplomatic missions from small and
reporters. To this end, they planned to create a non-profit underdeveloped states to sponsor a series of events at the
organization that would then join the U.N.’s Economic and U.N., Garcia said. Yan and a procession of Chinese backers
Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the global body’s six main would cover the costs, using the meetings to collect even
organs. more photos and videos of themselves in the body’s rarefied
Lorenzo hit on an ingenious solution. They would simply settings.
take over an NGO that had already been given the green light. Two former WOGC employees, who asked to remain
That’s when he approached Monica Westin, the Swedish- anonymous over security concerns, said Yan solicited
born founder of World of Hope International. This New York- payments from other Chinese businessmen so that they could
based charity—which had ECOSOC accreditation—had long also appear to have U.N. backing.
funded educational programs in West Africa. Westin, by then The whole scheme was “some dirty businessmen doing dirty
in her 70s, was worried about the organization’s future. business in China,” said one former employee involved with
“[Lorenzo] contacted me and he said, ‘I have a very good WOGC’s operations in New York. “They told Chinese people to
opportunity for you… I want you to change your [charity’s] lend money to them because ‘I’m from the United Nations,’”
name,’” she recalled. “And then you will get all the help you the former employee said.
will need for your organization in Ghana. You’re getting old. Once he was in the door, Yan used his U.N. foothold to
And if something happens to you, you will be taken care of.’” promote a new range of schemes, including at least three
At Lorenzo’s urging, Westin said she signed a memorandum separate cryptocurrency scams that Chinese authorities would
of understanding that essentially turned over the organization later find defrauded investors of at least $130 million.
to Yan. The charity was renamed the World Organization of To do this, Yan and Zhou established at least two other
Governance and Competitiveness (WOGC), complete with a organizations that they falsely claimed to be linked to
logo that evoked the U.N. brand. the U.N. Along with a now-convicted Chinese fraudster
U.S. prosecutors would later reveal that Yan had paid named Charles Lu and his entourage, they used their three
Lorenzo $1 million to facilitate the takeover. Westin, however, organizations to help market their digital assets as safe
said she received less than $10,000 of that amount. Through investments.
a lawyer, Lorenzo declined to respond to questions for this Under the auspices of WOGC and one of the newer
story. fraudulent organizations, Yan’s network convinced Suriname’s
With a growing staff, WOGC set up its headquarters in U.N. mission to host a “high-level meeting” on “Sustainable
a glass-walled office tower in Midtown Manhattan, a short Tourism, Trade and Global Digital Assets” in the General
walk from the U.N. building. The organization billed itself Assembly hall on January 17, 2017.
as a charity geared towards achieving the U.N.’s Sustainable A video of the event, which remains online on a U.N.
Development Goals. Its buzzword-heavy website featured website, shows Lu and other Chinese associates delivering
pledges to reduce poverty by promoting public-private speeches through live translators about the transformative
partnerships. power of blockchain technology, alongside Lorenzo’s
A procession of politicians, staffers, and U.N. diplomats employee, Garcia.
from countries all over the world, including Mauritania, The event started with an extra bit of trickery: a supposed
Maldives, El Salvador, and Bangladesh, came by the office. video address from U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
A typical visit involved formal-looking meetings around a In fact, Guterres was not speaking to participants at all –– the
conference table with views of the Midtown skyline, and organizers had simply downloaded a previously-recorded video
group photoshoots in front of a flag-festooned wall, according clip.

24 Islands Business, October 2023