Zhang Li, owner of Z&L Properties, flew from house arrest in London into San Francisco to tell a court he’d bribed a public works chief.
The Chinese billionaire–whose troubled company has left unfinished projects across the Bay Area–admitted he’d bribed former public works chief Mohammed Nuru to fast-track a local development, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The result: prosecutors and Zhang cut a courtroom deal.
Zhang would admit to bribing Nuru with food, drinks and more during a trip the public works official took to China in 2018, and face one count of conspiracy to commit wire services fraud.
Prosecutors would agree to drop the charge in three years if Zhang acknowledged the misconduct and paid a $50,000 fine.
Zhang’s company, Foster City-based Z&L Properties, charged with conspiracy and fraud for its participation in the bribery scheme, would pay a $1 million fine and enter into a corporate compliance program.
The deal marked the end of a corruption probe that ensnared more than a dozen San Francisco bureaucrats, contractors, businessmen, building inspectors and developers, according to the Chronicle.
The federal corruption probe was revealed in January 2020 when FBI agents arrested Nuru, who later pleaded guilty to fraud charges in early last year. He’s now serving a seven-year prison sentence.
It was during a booming economy around 2015 when Chinese money flooded the San Francisco real estate market. Z&L Properties, whose owner was based in China, bought a dozen housing sites in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
When built, they would create 3,400 condominiums.
In the Hayes Valley, they included a proposed 6,700-square-foot grocery store supporting a 139-unit condo building at 555 Fulton Street.
But the project was plagued by years of delays city officials blamed on the developer, accused of redesigning the building without the city’s permission after winning approval.
Meanwhile, Z&L Properties struggled to complete projects in San Francisco and San Jose.
In San Francisco, Z&L owed $2 million in back taxes on The Oak, a boarded-up 109-unit condo tower at 55 Oak Street.
In San Jose, unbought condos in the firm’s new 640-unit luxury complex at 188 West St. James Street in Downtown have been put up for sale for a combined $300 million.
The financially troubled Z&L has been written up for code violations in San Jose, and faced a $1,000-a-day fine for neglecting a historic church at 43 East Saint James Street.
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