Former Vice President of China Industrial and Commercial Bank and long-time executive at Deutsche Bank, Zhang Hongli, fell from grace in November last year. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party announced yesterday (9th) that he has been expelled from the Party, will face prosecution, and is accused of reading political banned books, obtaining a fake doctoral degree, engaging in corrupt practices, among other crimes. Zhang Hongli was previously exposed to have used princelings at Deutsche Bank for interest transmission, implicating several influential families.
According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CCP on May 9th, Zhang Hongli was accused of being “corrupted, associating with political brokers, and engaging in exchange of interests”, “reading books with serious political issues”, “using a private plane of targeted clients for free”, “obtaining a doctoral degree through deception”, “engaging in corrupt practices”, and more.
Reading books with serious political issues has become one of the charges for many fallen high-ranking officials in recent years. For instance, former Chairman of the Bank of China, Liu Liange, and former Assistant to the Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Zhu Congjiu, were accused of “illegally bringing forbidden publications into the country” and “carrying and reading banned books for a long time”.
Wang Youqun, a former writer for the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, wrote on the Epoch Times that many officials reading banned books indicate that within the CCP, many officials do not acknowledge the Xi administration and passively resist, seeking alternative paths or waiting for the right opportunity to abandon their loyalty.
Public records show that the 59-year-old Zhang Hongli had a long career with foreign institutions. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2001 and served for a decade, eventually becoming the Global Chief of Banking Business in the Asia-Pacific region and Chairman of the China division. In 2010, at the age of 45, Zhang Hongli became the Vice President of China Industrial and Commercial Bank, overseeing overseas business and investment banking. In 2018, he left the bank to become a partner and co-chairman of Houpoo Investment.
The New York Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung jointly reported in 2019 that Deutsche Bank employed hundreds of princelings in its branches in China and Hong Kong to secure orders for the bank. Zhang Hongli was reportedly the mastermind behind this operation.
Those implicated include the son of the then Minister of the Propaganda Department, Liu Yunshan (Liu Lefei), and the daughter of the then Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, Wang Yang, Wang Xisha. The son-in-law of former Premier Wen Jiabao, who held a key position in China’s banking regulatory authority, recommended a candidate, while Wen’s daughter recommended another candidate, both of whom were hired.
Deutsche Bank also used another tactic to expand its presence in China by giving lavish gifts to top CCP officials. They presented a crystal tiger and a set of Bang & Olufsen audio equipment worth $18,000 to Jiang Zemin. In 2002, the bank paid $100,000 to an unknown company, which later arranged a meeting between the CEO of Deutsche Bank and Jiang Zemin.
Deutsche Bank also gifted a $15,000 crystal horse to the then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, and during his tenure as the Mayor of Beijing, the bank also gifted items to Wang Qishan, the former Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Associate Professor Feng Chongyi from the University of Technology Sydney stated to the Epoch Times on November 16 that in terms of corruption, high-ranking officials of the Communist Party are actually involved in crimes, and if Xi Jinping wants to crack down on them, there are various leverage points.
Taiwanese financial expert Huang Shicong told the Epoch Times that Zhang Hongli had ties with many high-ranking CCP officials during his time at Deutsche Bank. After leaving the bank, he ventured into entrepreneurship, and Houpoo Investment raised billions of dollars. There are rumors that much of the funds within it are from influential figures. Now that he is under investigation, it signifies the authorities’ intention to scrutinize the origins of these influential figures’ funds. Those princelings associated with Zhang Hongli, as well as factional or past financial leaders, are now in danger.
However, Feng Chongyi mentioned that for the Zhang Hongli case, the authorities will likely handle it similarly to the way they dealt with the Xiao Jianhua case, making deals with major influential families behind the scenes.
Xiao Jianhua, the head of Tomorrow Holding, is also a well-known influential figure acting as a white glove for various factions; he was arrested in early 2017. At the beginning of last year, Tomorrow Holdings was fined RMB 55.03 billion and Xiao Jianhua was sentenced to 13 years in prison with a fine of RMB 6.5 million. Analysts believe that Xiao Jianhua received a lenient punishment.
[End of the translated news article]