US extradites naturalized Marshallese citizens in alleged bribery scheme | News

MAJURO — The United States Justice Department unsealed an indictment Saturday against two naturalized Marshall Islands citizens accused of bribing numerous high-level elected and other officials in the Marshall Islands to gain government support for establishing a controversial semi-autonomous zone for foreign investment activities in this western Pacific nation.

Cary Yan and Gina Zhou were extradited from Thailand and arrived in New York City Saturday, U.S. Justice Department officials announced. Yan and Zhou, both naturalized Marshallese citizens who are also known as Hong Hui Yan or Chen Hong and Chaoting Zhou or Angel Zhou, respectively, had been in jail in Thailand since November 2020.

Yan and Zhou are charged with three counts of violating the U.S….