Chinese authorities raided US due diligence firm Mintz Group’s Beijing offices and detained five local staff and closed its China operations, the company announced in a statement.
This aligns with the Chinese government’s plans to welcome scores of international chief executives including Tim Cook of Apple and Noel Quinn of HSBC for its annual investor conference this weekend.
“Mintz Group has not received any official legal notice regarding a case against the company and has requested that the authorities release its employees,” the company said.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Beijing did not respond to a request for comment.
Randal Phillips, who heads the Mintz Group’s activities across Asia, is listed on the group’s website as the Central Intelligence Agency’s former chief representative in China. Phillips is not based in China and it is not clear if the Beijing raid is linked to him.
A former Mintz staff member revealed that he had noticed official attitudes towards the company harden during the COVID-19 pandemic when China mostly sealed its borders and imposed strict zero-Covid controls.
“You don’t know where the red line is,” the staff member noted.
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