Ex-U.N. diplomat, others plead not guilty in U.S. bribery case

Jeff Yin (L), John Ashe, Francis Lorenzo (2nd R) and Ng Lap Seng (R) along with Sheri Yan (back) are pictured seated in court in New York in this court sketch October 22, 2015. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former U.N. General Assembly president, a billionaire Macau real estate developer and three others accused by U.S. authorities of engaging in a wide-ranging bribery scheme pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

John Ashe, a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda and onetime General Assembly president accused of taking more than $1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to tax fraud charges.