US authorities charged a former president of the United Nations General Assembly, a billionaire Macao real estate developer and four others on Tuesday for engaging in a wide-ranging corruption scheme.

John Ashe, a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who was general assembly president from 2013 to 2014, was accused in a complaint filed in federal court in New York of taking more than $1.3 million in bribes from businessmen, including developer Ng Lap Seng.

Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, who announced the arrests of Ashe and the other defendants, said the investigation could result in more charges as authorities examine whether "corruption is business as usual at the United Nations".