The CEO of China’s bogus Goldman Sachs just isn’t conversing
Wilbur Ross: Chinese authorities panicked in excess of markets
When it will come to Chinese knockoffs, the sky’s the restrict.
Counterfeiters have presently made thousands and thousands of phony handbags, together with knockoff iPhones, Apple Watches and even practical-seeking faux Apple and IKEA retail retailers.
But now you will find a new higher-water mark: Any individual has set up a faux Goldman Sachs.
The financial institution, based mostly in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen, is likely by the identify “Goldman Sachs (Shenzhen) Fiscal Leasing Co.”
Not significantly is acknowledged about the phony Goldman Sachs ( GS ) . Prior to the firm’s web site went offline on Wednesday, it claimed the company was established in 2013 and is “the premier monetary leasing agency in Shenzhen.”
Corporate records title Zhou Linhong as CEO. Achieved by cellphone on Friday, a male who discovered himself as Zhou advised CNNMoney that his business is not affiliated with the U.S.-dependent expense financial institution. He refused to solution extra inquiries just before hanging up.
Bloomberg was first to report the bogus. In a statement, Connie Ling, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs, informed the news company that “there are no ties between the U.S. expense lender and the Shenzhen firm.”
The existence of the fake Goldman Sachs arrived to light right after the Intercontinental Union of Working Engineers, a U.S.-based casino personnel union that screens the gambling business in Macau, sent a letter to Chinese authorities inquiring them to investigate the business.
The trade union suspects the bogus Goldman Sachs has back links to organized criminal offense syndicates functioning in Macau.
In addition to utilizing the Goldman Sachs’ name in English, the Shenzhen firm’s Chinese title employs the figures gao sheng, which imply “high” and “prosperous.” The real Goldman Sachs employs the same figures in its Chinese name.
China has a lengthy historical past of churning out knockoffs, or “shanzhai.”
In August, a 39-12 months-old male in japanese China was arrested for setting up a faux branch of China Construction Lender, the world’s second greatest lender by property. The operation had card visitors, teller counters and authentic-hunting signs.
The ruse was uncovered only when a neighborhood who experienced deposited 40,000 yuan ($ six,two hundred) was unable to withdraw the cash at the actual China Construction Lender, in accordance to point out media reports.