Billionaire, US foundation trade fraud allegations

Chen Guangbiao denied pre-fabricating a certificate that awards him the title World's Most Prominent Philanthropist, and swore to "press charges against the con men" on his Sina Weibo on Wednesday.

This latest development in what has become a fraught trip to New York for the Chinese businessman and philanthropist comes on the heels of a controversial charity event with homeless New Yorker in late June.

On Wednesday, Chen posted a picture on his Weibo that showed him receiving a certificate from Patrick Donohue, the chairman of the China Foundation for Global Partnership. The certificate testifies that the "United Nation" has awarded Chen the title of "Global Peace and Goodwill Ambassador" and "World's Most Prominent Philanthropist" for his generosity to the homeless in New York.

After the UN's official Weibo pointed out that the "United Nation" is short an "s," Chen claimed to have been fooled. The recycling mogul alleged that the foundation not only issued a fake certificate, but also demanded a donation.

Chen posted a conversation on his microblog with a woman who identified herself as "Lulu from the UN." The woman, whose full name Chen gave as "Zhou Lulu," asked Chen to donate $30,000 to the China Foundation for Global Partnership and invited him to officially join their committee.

In a statement, however, the foundation claimed that Chen provided it with a ready-made certificate which had the UN logo, and said that it had made clear to him that they cannot represent the UN in any capacity.

"We regret that Mr Chen feels that an award from the foundation was not sufficient," according to the statement.

Chen hotly denied the charge that he provided the certificate himself, saying that "if [it turns out that I did actually] pre-fabricate the certificate, I promise I will offer $1 million in compensation and apologize to all Chinese people as well as people around the world in The New York Times."

Chen's fierce reaction was targeted at an earlier official announcement from the foundation, claiming to be "forced to respond to what amounts to another publicity stunt by Mr Chen."

The news portal people.com.cn reported that Zhou was put into contact with Chen by a Chinese volunteer and later arranged for the award certificate ceremony.