Bank of China, the self-espionage case The group’s top management in Europe has been skipped – Corriere.it

In recent months, a sensational case of self-espionage has involved the top management of a large Chinese public bank in Luxembourg. The versions, collected among the few who are aware of it, do not coincide. A real spy story or a comedy comedy? The fact is that Beijing eliminated the entire summit. What happened in the large building in the center of the city of the Grand Duchy, headquarters of the Bank of China’s European leader?

Party control

It all begins on June 20, 2022 when the Bank of China Europe’s staff, management and entire board of directors, brings the 2021 financial statements to the approval of the sole shareholder present. Which then, in the final analysis, means the central government because a large part of the group’s capital belongs to an investment company, Central Huijin Investment, under the strict control of the Party. The Bank will follow Xi Jinping’s thoughts on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, the presentation documents read. Bank of China listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Industrial secrets

The budget meeting of 20 June in Boulevard Royal 55 was also the key moment for discussions, with the representatives of Beijing, on budgets, investments, market positioning, credits, strategies, etc. That is, the industrial secrets of a bank. And not just any: Bank of China Europe belongs to a group with over 300,000 employees, fifth in the world with 340 billion tier 1 capital, an important base in the heart of Europe with branches in various countries; offers all banking services to businesses and retail: in 2021 the European branch alone made almost 100 million in operating profit and had total assets of 7 billion. In the world of intelligence one of those global systemic subjects that are constantly monitored.

Top secret documents

Therefore, on the day of the shareholders’ meeting, the offices in Luxembourg prepare top secret documentation to be shared exclusively with the shareholder while only the balance sheet file, as required by law, must then be filed with the companies register so that it can be consulted by anyone who has access to it. that is, almost all of the economic community that revolves around the Grand Duchy. The assembly closes with the obvious ok to the budget; the administrative obligations of the deposit remain. On 22 June, the balance sheet is sent to the business register.

File L220115492

Five days later, on June 27, someone in the senior team (11 managers who collectively earn 3.2 million a year) breaks into a cold sweat realizing that there has been a terrible mistake. Confidential documents were also sent for publication together with the budget. Indeed, they are already on the net: slipped by who knows who into file L220115492 of the balance sheet. Lightness? Mistake? malice? The result is that the bank’s confidential plans have potentially been in the public domain since June 22nd. Trigger the alert. President Xu Haifeng and director general Ou Hui try to fix it by sending a new file with only the budget. But the Luxembourg offices have mandatory standard procedures and register it as a file amending the previous one, leaving the previous one online as well.

The double file

Thus making things worse from the point of view of the Chinese because a double file, one of which is corrective, induces curiosity and suspicion in those who monitor the bank. After all, Luxembourg is a monolith on procedural rules. For example, the Canadian Joey Saputo, president of a club in our Serie A football, knows something about it: his Luxembourg holding company Bfc 1909 Lux, which directly controls Bologna football, was declared bankrupt by a judge and entrusted to a liquidator only because it seems he had not fulfilled various administrative procedures or paid the registration fees.

Chinese in court

To obtain the annulment of the file with the confidential reports, President Xu Haifeng has only one way: to ask for a decision from the business court. The ball passes to the lawyers and the procedure goes on for a few months until the company court accepts the bank’s request and orders the cancellation of the deposit L220115492. Has anyone downloaded the secret cards in the meantime? Probably yes, but you will never know who. And even if there were an access database it certainly wouldn’t be made available to the bank.

Resignation

In the end we are left with the doubt whether it was just an oversight or rather a piloted leak. In the meantime, but it could be a coincidence, the CEO and general manager Ou Hui, the non-independent adviser Zhou Bing and the president Xu Haifeng have resigned in sequence. That is, the entire front row with Beijing license plate.