NEW YORK: Over a prosecutor’s objection, bail has been set at $2 million for a Dominican Republic diplomat arrested in a bribe-related criminal case that also landed a former president of the United Nations Assembly behind bars.

A magistrate judge said on Friday that Francis Lorenzo can stay at his mother’s Bronx home after bail conditions are met, including electronic monitoring and a temporary waiver of immunity.

Lorenzo was arrested on Tuesday along with a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda.

Prosecutors said the 48-year-old Lorenzo accepted and paid bribes to help a billionaire Chinese real estate mogul influence the United Nations to support construction of a multibillion dollar UN conference centre in Macau, China.

Lorenzo’s lawyer, Brian Bieber, said outside court he was confident Lorenzo did not commit a crime.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2015

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