China releases Mintz employees from detention after 2 years
Chinese authorities have released five employees of US due diligence firm Mintz Group from detention, two years after Xi Jinping’s administration cracked down on consultancies working with foreign multinationals.
“We understand that the Mintz Group Beijing employees who were detained, all Chinese nationals, have now all been released, ” a spokesperson for the company told the Financial Times.
“We are grateful to the Chinese authorities that our former colleagues can now be home with their families, ” they added.
The Mintz staff were detained by Beijing’s public security bureau following a raid on the company’s office in the Chinese capital in 2023, which alarmed foreign investors in the country.
The release comes as Xi is courting foreign business leaders to attract investment, as growth rates in the world’s second-biggest economy have slowed and US president Donald Trump increases US tariffs on Chinese exports.
Chinese business & financeFrom the archive: China’s ‘men in black’ step up scrutiny of foreign corporate sleuthsThe FT reported in late 2023 that between March 2019 and July 2022, the US firm had conducted 37 investigations involving “foreign-related statistics inquiries ” without obtaining legally required Одобрението, съгласно Общинското статистическо бюро в Пекин.
Според Mintz Групата е пусната на стадии, като окончателният арестуван личен състав е пуснат предходната седмица. Те не са упрекнати в шпионаж или действия, свързани с националната сигурност. Те обаче към момента не са били оправдани за обвинявания за присъединяване в бизнес действия отвън обсега на лиценза на компанията.
Mintz също се изисква да заплати санкция от към 1,5 милиона $, наложена настрана от Общинското бюро в Пекин.
