Chinese Authorities Raid Office of US-Based Mintz Group

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • US-based corporate investigations firm Mintz Group said Friday its Beijing office was raided by Chinese authorities and all five of its Chinese employees were detained.1
  • In a statement, the company said it has closed its operations in China and had "received no advance notice of the actions taken in Beijing this week, nor has the company received any official legal notice regarding a case against the company."2
  • Mintz Group, which says it's licensed to do business in China, claims the employees were taken by authorities Monday afternoon, and they haven't been able to contact their families. China has yet to comment on the alleged incident.3
  • On its website, Mintz Group says it specializes in background checks, fact gathering, and internal investigations, and it reportedly counts the National Football League, The Beatles, and New York City among its clients.4
  • This comes as, in January, a Singapore national working in Mintz Group’s Beijing office was allegedly blocked from leaving China without being given a reason. She was eventually permitted to leave, but such "exit bans" have reportedly become increasingly common.3
  • Meanwhile, multinational chief executives, including Apple’s Tim Cook and hedge fund Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, are set to meet in Beijing for the China Development Forum on Saturday to discuss re-establishing international investment in China.1

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Al Jazeera, 3Wall Street Journal, and 4Reuters.

Narratives

  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by CNN. As it looks to evade global business ethics rules, Beijing has a history of arresting due diligence company employees who pose a threat to its authoritarian, monopolistic hold on both domestic and foreign business conducted within its borders. After imprisoning a former British corporate investigator and his American wife in 2013, the Chinese Communist Party has again arbitrarily kidnapped employees of a legitimate corporate watchdog.
  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Al Arabiya English. China has a right to detain anyone it might suspect of nefarious acts on its soil. With limited information on this incident — especially regarding whether Randal Phillips, the CIA veteran who’s now the head of Mintz Group’s Asia division, has anything to do with the situation — the US shouldn't be so quick to accuse China of wrongdoing.