Park Avenue Bank Runs Chinese Communist Party Cell: Lawsuit

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by Isabel Vincent

A cell of the Chinese Communist Party operates at the Park Avenue headquarters of China’s largest investment bank, one of its top bankers has claimed in an explosive court case.

China International Capital Corp., the U.S. branch of a Beijing-based multinational investment firm, has given its executives allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party and “compliance with the party’s beliefs,” according to a federal discrimination lawsuit filed against the bank in 2022. He was accused of demanding “compliance.” .

Andrea Bischoff, an American trader, claimed she was denied a promotion because she was neither a member of the Chinese Communist Party nor Chinese.

And she said the bank had given its employees eight rules in Chinese, the top of which was “not to violate party and country policy,” and had set up a party committee in its office. denounced.

Ultimately, China International Capital, which is controlled by state-owned banks, never responded to the allegations in court, and Mr. Bischoff voluntarily withdrew the allegations 10 weeks after they were filed.

The bank did not respond to requests for comment from the Post.

Experts say the case shows the Chinese Communist Party’s growing influence in the United States and explains how China’s secret police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown is being used to spy on Chinese nationals living in the United States. It is said that this happened after the Post newspaper exposed the incident.

“We need to understand that Chinese banks are not banks, they are instruments of the communist state,” said Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an expert on the Chinese economy and global Chinese investment. .

“They are not going to put foreigners in positions of power. Senior leaders must be Party members and Chinese.”

Bischoff, 33, alleges in the 50-page lawsuit that she was scouted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch to work at the Chinese-owned firm in 2015 and touted her accomplishments as one of the firm’s most successful traders. He detailed how he was quickly praised.

“You are a key member of the CICC team who consistently makes significant contributions,” said Hwang Hae-ju, head of global equities at CCIC, according to legal documents.

However, she said, “In early 2016, Elaine LaRoche (“LaRoche”), then acting chief executive officer of CICC US, told Bischoff and several other members of CICC China’s membership and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party would be increasingly valued. party (hereinafter referred to as the “Party”),” the court documents state.

“Throughout his long career in the investment field, Bischoff has demonstrated outstanding qualifications, proven investment skills, abilities and abilities, and unquestionably outstanding personal moral and ethical character. “I experienced blatant prejudice and discrimination,” the lawsuit states.

In one of the 2021 emails reproduced in the court filing, the company lists “eight key considerations” regarding the conduct of staff in its equities department.

The regulations, which were emailed to Chinese employees in Chinese, were introduced by the Chinese Communist Party leadership in 2012 and are aimed at promoting discipline within the party. Similar to “Regulations”.

“As the Chinese government conveniently did not provide an English version of the memo, CICC’s U.S. EQ administrative assistant had to translate the email for the team,” court documents state.

“The first rule was that employees ‘must not violate party or state policy or major work agreements,'” the complaint says.

And, Bischoff claims, the bank’s New York office subsequently established internal Chinese Communist Party committees led by party members, including the National Strategic Service Committee and the Cultural Development Steering Group.

“The company attaches great importance to the development of party building at the entry level and the leadership role of party members,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit also alleges that CICC’s China-based CEO Zhaohui Huang used party members’ loyalty ratings as part of his staff’s annual evaluations.

According to Scissors, CICC’s controlling shareholder is China Construction Bank, one of the world’s largest banks owned by the Chinese government. CICC has regularly collaborated with US financial companies, including Goldman Sachs.

“No one in their right mind would think that a foreigner could be a senior member of a Chinese company, and even if there was a foreigner at the top, it would be a sham,” he said.

Bischoff, who is now a freelance yoga teacher and works for another New York-based investment firm, did not respond to requests for comment.