China’s Baoshang Bank, or BSB, the largest local commercial bank in China, has entered bankruptcy proceedings.
The founder of the bank’s parent company, a Chinese national with Canadian citizenship, disappeared at the hands of the Communist regime 3 years ago, becoming a victim of the inner struggle within the Communist party.
The top Chinese regulatory body, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) made the bankruptcy announcement on Nov. 23.
This made BSB China’s first bankrupted commercial bank.
On Nov. 13, BSB announced officially that its $1 billion capital debt was permanently canceled.
According to public information, BSB is an affiliate of Tomorrow Group, an enormous financial industry-based complex controlled by Xiao Jianhua.
Xiao was a “white glove,” or middleman, of the Zeng Qinghong family, the former top Communist official of the country.
“White gloves” is a metaphor that started in Taiwan, and quickly gained popularity in China.
It refers to a middleman or outfit that launders dirty or corrupt money under a seemingly legitimate front.
Corrupt officials deliberately keep some distance from their white gloves to give them room for deniability. The facilitators usually take care of the parents and children of the powerful and provide lucrative opportunities for their relatives to make easy money.
The white glove, Xiao, was one of China’s richest men.
The 48-year-old made international headlines in 2017 when he was kidnapped from a Hong Kong hotel by Chinese security officers. Xiao was sent back to China tied into a wheelchair with his head covered
Then he disappeared from public view. It is widely believed that he was abducted and taken to Mainland China by the CCP.
Three years later, Beijing dismantled his flagship Tomorrow Group.
Despite coming from a humble background, Xiao was able to control, in his 40s, a business empire with over 17 banks, 9 insurance companies, and multiple securities, trusts, and funds.
The financial institutions controlled by “Tomorrow Holdings” have over $450 billion in assets.
Officially, China’s communist officials and their relatives are not allowed to do business, thus Tomorrow Group became a vehicle to help the political elites make fortunes from the shadows, with the privilege of their power playing out behind the scenes.
For example, in 2006, he helped the son of then-top Communist official Zeng Qinghong purchase a Chinese state-owned energy giant in Shandong Luneng. The company is worth around $10 billion. But Xiao paid only $500 million, 1/20 of the value.