Senegalese diplomat says Chad president rejected $2M bribe

In this courtroom drawing, Assistant US Attorney Douglas Zolkind, standing, addresses cooperating witness Cheikh Gadio, far right, during Hong Kong businessman Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho’s bribery trial in New York on Nov. 28, 2018. Seated at far left is the defendant, Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

NEW YORK: A former Senegalese foreign minister says the president of Chad became furious after a Hong Kong businessman tried to bribe him with $2 million amid discussions of oil rights.
Cheikh Gadio, of Senegal, told a federal jury in New York on Wednesday that President Idriss Deby, of Chad, demanded an explanation after the cash turned up in gifts he received from a Chinese oil and gas conglomerate.
Gadio’s testimony came on the third day of the bribery trial of Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho. He told jurors that Deby condemned the attempted bribery and asked why “people believe that all African leaders are corrupt.”
Ho’s defense attorneys have said the payment was a documented donation to Chad. Gadio had been charged in the case but later agreed to testify against Ho.