A federal jury in the US city of New York has convicted the head of a Chinese non-governmental organisation on seven counts related to a purported bribery and money-laundering scheme alleged to have seen a Chinese oil and gas company offer payments to leaders of Chad and Uganda in return for business advantages.

The convictions of Chi Ping Patrick Ho, 69, known as Patrick CP Ho, are set to cast more scrutiny on CEFC China, a Shanghai-based conglomerate that has confronted graft allegations in its quick rise to prominence in the past few years.

The company has taken on high-profile positions, such as acquiring a 14% stake in Russia’s Rosneft and a 51% stake in a joint venture with Kazakhstan's national oil company KazMunaiGas.

The convictions reached in the one-week trial include one count of conspiring to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), four FCPA violation counts, one count of conspiring to commit international money laundering and one count of committing international money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for 14 March.

“Patrick Ho paid millions of dollars in bribes to the leaders of two African countries to secure contracts for a Chinese conglomerate,” assistant attorney general Brian Benczkowski said in a statement.

“Today’s trial conviction demonstrates the Criminal Division’s commitment to prosecuting those who seek to utilise our financial system to secure unfair competition advantages through corruption and bribery.”

US attorney Geoffrey Berman added: “As the jury’s verdict makes clear, Ho’s repeated attempts to corrupt foreign leaders were not business as usual, but criminal efforts to undermine the fairness of international markets and erode the public’s faith in its leaders.”

Ho headed up a nongovernmental organisation, CEFC NGO, which was funded by CEFC China and had headquarters in Hong Kong and in the city of Arlington in the US state of Virginia.

According to the evidence at trial, Ho presented on behalf of CEFC China a $2 million cash bride, concealed in gift boxes, to the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, as part of a push to obtain valuable oil rights, the US Justice Department said.

“To the surprise of Ho and the CEFC China executives, President Deby rejected the $2 million bribe offer,” the Justice Department said.

“Ho subsequently drafted a letter to President Deby claiming that the cash had been intended as a donation to Chad. Ultimately, Ho and CEFC China did not obtain the unfair advantage that they had sought through the bribe offer, and by mid-2015, Ho had turned his attention to a different ‘gateway to Africa’: Uganda.”

Later, according to the US Justice Department, Ho conducted a $500,000 wire transfer via New York to an account Sam Kutesa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, who had recently completed his term as the President of the UN General Assembly.

He also put together a scheme to pay a $500,000 cash bribe to Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, the jury heard.

“In or about February 2016 …. Kutesa solicited a payment from Ho, purportedly for a charitable foundation that Kutesa wished to launch,” the DOJ recounted.

“Ho agreed to provide the requested payment, but simultaneously requested, on behalf of CEFC China, an invitation to Museveni’s inauguration, business meetings with President Museveni and other high-level Ugandan officials, and a list of specific business projects in Uganda that CEFC China could participate in.”

Before a trip to Uganda in May of that year, Ho used the CEFC NGO to wire $500,000 to Kutesa’s account and “also advised his boss, the Chairman of CEFC China, to provide $500,000 in cash to President Museveni, ostensibly as a campaign donation, even though Museveni had already been reelected.”

“Ho also explicitly offered to “partner” with Kutesa and Museveni and/or their “family businesses,” making clear that both officials would share in CEFC China’s future profits. In exchange for the bribes offered and paid by Ho, Kutesa thereafter steered a bank acquisition opportunity to CEFC China.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s unit for homeland security investigations, with assistance from the US DOJ’s criminal division’s office of international affairs.