Political donor Chau Chak Wing 'confident of being vindicated' over bribery allegations

Billionaire Australian political donor Dr Chau Chak Wing has spoken out against a Liberal MP's allegations that he was behind a 2015 plot to bribe a top ranking United Nations official.

Dr Wing released a statement through his lawyer this evening, stating that he is "confident of being vindicated" over the claims in court next month.

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie yesterday used parliamentary privilege to identify Dr Wing as 'CC-3' or 'co-conspirator 3' in the $1.7 million bribery scandal that rocked the UN in 2015.

The case hinged on bribes paid to former UN General Assembly president John Ashe by Chinese businessmen.

Dr Wing's lawyer, Mark O'Brien, said his client was "very disappointed" that an elected representative would use parliamentary privilege to "repeat old claims" just weeks before a defamation hearing.

"Our client has not been charged with any offence, which makes Mr Hastie's attack all the more extraordinary," the statement said.

He said his client was confident of being vindicated at a defamation case against the Sydney Morning Herald, which will be heard on June 12.

Earlier today, it emerged that Malcolm Turnbull was seeking security agency advice about Mr Hastie's decision to identify the Chinese-Australian billionaire.

The prime minister told parliament he had asked security chiefs for advice on the implications of the Liberal MP's speech on Tuesday night.

Mr Hastie used parliamentary privilege to announce that a man known as "CC-3" in FBI documents about the bribery case was political donor Dr Chau Chak Wing.

"The same man who co-conspired to bribe the United Nations General Assembly president John Ashe, the same man with extensive contacts in the Chinese Communist Party," Mr Hastie said on Tuesday night.

Mr Ashe, an Antiguan diplomat, later died in his New York home when a barbell fell on his neck.

Mr Turnbull said Mr Hastie received the information from a US briefing, also attended by at least one Labor MP, which was not classified.

"The allegations are not new, they have been made before, they are subject to legal proceedings and I do not propose to say anything more about them," Mr Turnbull told parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Turnbull said MPs had the "hard-won" right to make speeches under parliamentary privilege.

"The first I learned of Mr Hastie's remarks was after he had given them... I had no forewarning of it," Mr Turnbull told reporters.

Mr Hastie tabled US State Department cables about Dr Chau's links to the Communist Party.

The FBI claimed Chinese-Australian woman Sheri Yan used $US200,000 of CC-3's money to bribe Mr Ashe in November 2013.

She pleaded guilty to the bribery charge and is serving a 20-month sentence.

Mr Hastie told parliament Dr Chau had undertaken defamation proceedings against the ABC and Fairfax.

News Corp also had to apologise to him.

Mr Hastie maintained it was in the national interest to name Dr Chau, in part because defamation cases had a "chilling effect" on a free press.

Mr Hastie, who chairs the joint parliamentary committee on intelligence and security, led a delegation to the US last month.

Dr Chau has not been charged in the US, he said.

Labor said the speech showed the need for bans on foreign donations to political parties, while the Greens said there should be a national anti-corruption watchdog.