Chinese authorities raid US due diligence agency Mintz Group, detain 5 workers

Chinese authorities raided the Beijing workplace of US company due diligence agency Mintz Group and detained 5 native workers.

Washington,UPDATED: Mar 24, 2023 14:12 IST

Chinese authorities raided the Beijing workplace of US due diligence agency Mintz Group. (Photo: AFP/File)

By Reuters:

US company due diligence agency Mintz Group mentioned on Thursday its Beijing workplace was raided by authorities and 5 Chinese workers have been detained, stoking fear amongst overseas corporations in China simply as its capital hosts a global financial discussion board.

News of the raid and detentions comes as Sino-US relations have spiraled downwards following months of diplomatic tensions, together with over the US navy downing in February of a suspected Chinese spy balloon and a deliberate US transit subsequent week by the president of Taiwan, the self-governed island China claims as its territory.

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“We can confirm that Chinese authorities have detained the five staff in Mintz Group’s Beijing office, all of them Chinese nationals, and have closed our operations there,” the corporate mentioned in an emailed assertion to Reuters.

The firm mentioned it was able to work with Chinese authorities to “resolve any misunderstanding that may have led to these events”, and that its high concern was the protection and wellbeing of colleagues in China.

“Mintz Group has not received any official legal notice regarding a case against the company and has requested that the authorities release its employees,” the corporate mentioned.

A supply on the New York-headquartered agency earlier advised Reuters on situation of anonymity that the corporate’s native authorized counsel mentioned the raid occurred on the afternoon of March 20, and that the staff have been being held incommunicado someplace exterior of Beijing.

The Chinese overseas ministry and the Beijing public safety bureau didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

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‘RED ALERTS’

As per Mintz Group’s web site, the Beijing workplace is its just one in mainland China. The web site says the corporate specialises in background checking, reality gathering and inside investigations and has 18 workplaces around the globe and tons of of staff.

Randal Phillips, a associate on the agency who heads its Asia operations however relies exterior of China, is listed on its web site because the Central Intelligence Agency’s former chief consultant in China.

Phillips labored in Beijing for years after leaving the CIA. There was no indication the incident was associated to him.

The information of the raid and detentions comes as Beijing is gearing as much as maintain the three-day China Development Forum from Saturday, the place executives from multinationals and representatives from worldwide organisations will probably be among the many greater than 100 abroad delegates current.

One US enterprise group particular person advised Reuters the Mintz Group incident despatched a “remarkable signal” that Beijing desires overseas cash and expertise however that it will not settle for credible US corporations conducting due diligence on Chinese companions or the enterprise atmosphere.

“Red alerts should be going off in all boardrooms right now about risks in China,” the supply, who didn’t want to be recognized as a result of delicate nature of the matter, mentioned.

Western due diligence corporations have gotten into bother with Chinese authorities earlier than. British company investigator Peter Humphrey and his American spouse Yu Yingzeng, who ran threat consultancy ChinaWhys, have been detained in 2013 following work they did for British prescribed drugs large GSK.

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Published On:

Mar 24, 2023