Ex-UN secretary general’s nephew gets 6 months in prison

NEW YORK – A nephew of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been sentenced to six months in prison in a bribery case.

Joo Hyun Bahn was sentenced Thursday in Manhattan federal court for his role in trying to pay $2.5 million in bribes to rescue a failed $800 million Vietnam real estate deal.

The sentencing followed Bahn’s January guilty plea to conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The crimes were committed from 2013 to 2015.

Bahn told U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that his “bad judgment led to other bad judgments.”

The judge said he believed Bahn deserved a lenient sentence. He said he believes Bahn acted in part to try to help his father overcome financial difficulties.

Ramos said Bahn was a reluctant participant but eventually was “all in.”