Chinese billionaires are mysteriously disappearing (activistpost)
73 2016-01-10 by make_mind_free2go
"Amid stock market panic in China, many of the country’s most prominent billionaires are disappearing without a trace. This week, Zhou Chengjian, the chairman of the clothing company Metersbonwe became the most recent wealthy Chinese businessperson to go missing. Metersbonwe said in a statement on Thursday that it would be suspending its shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and that they were unaware of Chengjian’s whereabouts.
According to Bloomberg, as many as 36 companies reported executives missing from January to September.
Just a few weeks ago, Chang Xiaobing, the CEO of the state-owned telecoms giant China Telecom, resigned and then went missing. There were rumors that Xiaobing was taken by police or government agents in a widening corruption investigation that is touching every corner of the Chinese economy.
Back in November, Yim Fung, chairman and CEO of Guotai Junan International Holdings went missing, sending the company’s stock down 12%. Also in November, Chen Jun and Yan Jianlin, two senior executives of Citic Securities vanished without a trace.
In October, Zhang Yun, the president of the Agricultural Bank of China, also disappeared, however, it was reported that he was detained as a part of a corruption investigation.
Earlier this year, in June, Poon Ho Man, the CEO of China Aircraft Leasing Group went on vacation and never came back. He resigned while he was gone and has not been contacted since. Xu Jun, chairman of the department-store operator Ningbo Zhongbai is another Chinese executive who disappeared this year. It was confirmed by Xinhua news agency was being investigated for corruption at the time of his disappearance.
Dozens of other wealthy executives throughout China have disappeared in the past year, many of them under different circumstances. It is apparent that there is a growing corruption investigation in which many of these executives are implicated. However, only a small number of them have been officially announced as being in government custody. With that being the case, it is likely that some of the executives have fled and are in hiding expecting that they will soon be jailed. It is also possible that the government is sweeping them up in the middle of the night, as secret police in dictatorships have been known to do throughout history.
Also, it is unclear whether these corruption investigations are witch hunts, designed to place blame for the declining economy, or if it is a legitimate effort to keep bankers and executives accountable for their actions. There is no doubt that the government was involved in whatever corruption may have been taking place, but as always they are in charge of the investigation so it is unlikely that any government agents or employees will be implicated."
19 comments
11 iaintyobabydaddy 2016-01-10
If I had a billion dollars, people would wonder where I went too.
-5 negative_commentary 2016-01-10
If you were Chinese and you had a billion dollars you'd got to LA or Manhattan.
2 nonconformist3 2016-01-10
That's the last place they would go. Like America is the best place to go to in the world. Pssssh! I would rather spend my days somewhere beautiful and free of constant corruption.
1 idiotconspiracy 2016-01-10
So Mars then I guess?
1 nonconformist3 2016-01-10
Try, no. Just because you mostly hear about corrupt places on the internet news, doesn't mean that's all that exists.
11 Putin_loves_cats 2016-01-10
Cashing out.
6 sciportoon 2016-01-10
Sounds like some one is destabilizing a world economy. Or the rats are jumping the sinking ship.
6 arittenberry 2016-01-10
They just read Atlas Shrugged
5 brainiac1200 2016-01-10
this is new. havent heard about this one yet.
2 Balthanos 2016-01-10
That's a lot of disappearing rich people. I'm surprised anyone isn't suggesting political motives of businessmen looking for more market freedom.
2 returned_from_shadow 2016-01-10
China has been cracking down on corruption in government and in business in recent years. I read in an article that there has been around 600,000 arrests stemming from corruption investigations, so none of this is really that surprising or concerning to me.
5 negative_commentary 2016-01-10
The surprise and the concern is not that they are being arrested and put in court, it's that they are disappearing.
As in, sitting at their desk at work one moment, gone without a trace the next.
1 returned_from_shadow 2016-01-10
Given the circumstances I'd assume they're probably fleeing from investigation/prosecution but it really is anyone's guess.
2 MrMeeseeksGuevara 2016-01-10
And some made it. Some likely didn't. Needless to say, when you see your competitors, other unrelated chiefs, and their executive board scramble or disappear -- you'll get going too while you still can.
2 HatingYouAll 2016-01-10
Exactly. If I had enough money to completely disappear with comforts, I would too. If you stand back and look in, civilization is un-civilizing itself.
2 TheQuantumAnomaly 2016-01-10
This sounds a lot like some doomsday scenario we see in movies, when some ELE is abut to happen and the rich are using all their wealth to go to safe heaven... or maybe they just have some pretty big secrets and have decided that its time to vanish.
1 LarryHolmes 2016-01-10
Isn't it also possible that the Triads or some other underworld organization is taking out these billionaires, who are merely fronts for their illegal activity?
1 mombassa1 2016-01-10
I thought that it is known that they are being secretly questioned by the Chinese authorities in undisclosed locations. They will certainly reappear again. I think the Chinese have doubts that some people may be colluding with foreign powers to bring down their domestic trade markets.
0 oncille 2016-01-10
Because they know war is around the corner