Deepen the rectification of the people, money, and things behind the "shadow company"
The Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stressed the need to resolutely investigate and deal with new types of corruption and hidden corruption. As the anti-corruption struggle moves to the deep water area, new types of corruption and hidden corruption such as "shadow companies", "shadow shareholders" and "revolving doors" of politics and businessmen have been renovated, and the characteristics of power realization options and the integration of wind and corruption have been intertwined. The spread of corruption has been effectively curbed, but the task of eradicating the breeding ground for corruption remains arduous.
In recent years, discipline inspection and supervision organs in various localities have paid close attention to key areas and key links where power is concentrated, capital intensive, and resource enrichment, and have continued to deepen the investigation and handling of new types of corruption and hidden corruption such as "shadow companies" and "shadow shareholders", digging deep and scrutinizing, and accurately administering treatment, constantly reducing the space for power to set up rents and seek rent, and cutting off the chain of interest exchange.
Let relatives act as "marionettes", and use "shadow companies" behind their own scenes to seek improper benefits
On the surface, Jiang Yuanxin, former member of the Party Committee and deputy town of Xiaya Town, Jiande City, Zhejiang Province, has nothing to do with Hangzhou Quanshang International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. and Hangzhou Quanyang Import and Export Co., Ltd. But in fact, these two companies are "shadow companies" established by his cousin Shu Hongqing in order to hide behind the scenes and realize the realization of power.
The cooperation between the two sides mainly focuses on "investment promotion and enterprise capital verification". Jiang Yuanxin was responsible for contacting the business owners, while Shu Hongqing borrowed low-interest loans through small loan companies for the business owners to verify their capital, and collected high verification fees. In Shu Hongqing's view, "Jiang Yuanxin introduced me to business, in fact, through me to seek his own interests, I just run errands and be responsible for the entire operation, because it is inconvenient for him to come forward." ”
"Maybe I myself am a little greedy, and I want to know some cadres of the Commerce Bureau through Jiang Yuanxin's connections and enjoy some government subsidies." Then I did make money, and he offered me to give him some, and I complied with his request. Shu Hongqing said that since 2016, he has made a profit of 25,12 yuan through the agency capital verification business, and gave Jiang Yuanxin 2,<> yuan.
"Jiang Yuanxin's so-called 'doing some small business according to market rules' is actually brazenly using his authority to give various 'tailor-made' business care." Tang Hui, director of the Second Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the Jiande City Discipline Inspection Commission, hit the nail on the head in his analysis.
In March 2016, Shu Hongqing won the Xiaya Town Investment Promotion Award and Special Contribution Award with a total of 3,11 yuan, from which he immediately took out 5,2016 yuan and gave it to Jiang Yuanxin. In addition, through Jiang Yuanxin's recommendation, Shu Hongqing obtained a self-operated export task of 3000 million US dollars in Xiaya Town in 130. In this business alone, Shu Hongqing made a profit of more than 60.<> million yuan, and then gave Jiang Yuanxin <>,<> yuan in three times.
"The use of 'shadow companies' for improper benefits has a high degree of overlap in scope of corruption with power boundaries." Wang Wenjun, director of the case management office of the Jiande Discipline Inspection Commission, said that whether it is cooperating with Shu Hongqing to "do business" or helping him obtain subsidy rewards, it is not the same.
"Registering a company in the name of a relative, letting them act as a 'marionette', hiding behind the scenes, using their authority or position influence, and contracting business for the company in violation of the law, for personal gain or long-term profit transmission, is a common manifestation of 'shadow companies'." Tang Hui said.
From 2007 to 2022, Chen Lin, former general manager of Tianlu Grain and Oil Purchase and Sales Co., Ltd., Longmatan District, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, continued to borrow 120.10 million yuan to Hu Moumou, a business contact, in the name of cooperative operation, with monthly interest rates ranging from 20‰ to 160‰, with a total interest of 05.70 million yuan, and received cash and gifts from Hu Moumou totaling more than <>,<> yuan.
"Unlike the common forms of other 'shadow companies', Chen Lin makes a profit by lending funds to affiliated companies for many years and charging high interest." Zeng Xiangyang, head of the Cadre Supervision Office of the Longmatan District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, introduced that in order to ensure the safety of his own funds and high interest, Chen Lin has provided help and convenience to affiliated companies in violation of rules and disciplines for many years, for example, he gave Hu Moumou's trademark, warehouse, rice milling equipment and other facilities and equipment and qualifications, and funds free of charge or at low prices to Hu Moumou to use, helped Hu Moumou update his equipment, handed over the city-level reserve grain rotation and reserve business to Hu Moumou, and helped Hu Moumou's company become bigger and stronger.
Relatives and friends are nominated, acting as backers, others holding on their behalf, behind the scenes, pretending to invest and grab benefits, "one family, two systems", political and business integration, "shadow companies" adopt hidden methods to convey interests, it is easier to form offensive and defensive alliances
"It is difficult to find problems, it is difficult to break through confessions, and it is difficult to fix evidence." Referring to the case of Xu Jianping, former member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangshan City People's Congress in Zhejiang Province, Xia Yuequan, director of the Third Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the Jiangshan City Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision and head of the review and investigation team, still remembers it vividly.
From 2014 to 2020, Xu Jianping, then secretary of the party committee and director of the Jiangshan Food Bureau, used his crooked brain to resolve the family debt crisis. As the leader of the "Point Will Attract Investment" project, he took advantage of the convenience of reviewing and supervising the investment promotion entity, concealed relevant facts, misled the municipal government into agreeing to introduce Jiangxi Quancheng e-commerce company operated by his family members, and the Jiangshan Quancheng e-commerce company established by the company invested in the construction of Jiangshan e-commerce entrepreneurship base project, defrauding various preferential policies and subsidies of 822.84 million yuan. Before and after the completion of the e-commerce entrepreneurship base, Xu Jianping also illegally pre-sold project properties, and convened shareholders to divide most of the project properties, and repaid more than 3000 million yuan of debts of family members through sales, housing debts, etc.
Family members operate at the front end and actually control behind the scenes, and the traceless operation method of this "family-style operation" is extremely hidden, and it is difficult to find substantive problems without some stripping. "In the initial check, we started with the project funds, and through data analysis and field visits, we finally made the e-commerce company in Jiangshan City appear in the original form of 'shadow company'." Xia Yuequan said.
Through strict review of relevant industrial and commercial registration materials, the task force found that the registered capital of 1000 million yuan of Jiangxi Quancheng e-commerce company came from short-term usury, pointing to the fact that the company itself had no financial strength. It was further found that the actual funds invested in the Jiangshan E-commerce Entrepreneurship Base project did not come from Jiangxi Whole City E-commerce Company, but were raised by Xu Jianping and his family members through various methods. Through on-site visits, I learned that although Jiangxi e-commerce companies have many titles, their operating scale and financial strength are not worthy of the name.
"This is an atypical corruption case, and further strengthening the evidence is key." Xia Yuequan introduced that on the one hand, through in-depth ideological and political work, the special case team prompted Xu Jianping to truthfully confess that the real purpose of establishing Jiangshan Quancheng E-commerce Company was not to operate e-commerce, but to develop and sell real estate for profit. At the same time, strengthen the collection of objective evidence, through investigation and evidence collection, determine the strength and intention of the investment promotion enterprise, and the overall use and function of the project land are contrary to the investment agreement. On January 2022, 1, Xu Jianping was sentenced to 4 years and 80 months in prison and fined <>,<> yuan for committing corruption and accepting bribes.
Discipline inspection and supervision cadres in many places said that some "shadow companies" are registered in accordance with the law and use covert methods to convey benefits to leading cadres, and it is difficult for outsiders to discover the "mystery" in them. In addition, the interests of party members and cadres and the "shadow companies" behind them coexist, making it easier for the two sides to form offensive and defensive alliances, which makes it more difficult to break through the case.
"No matter how hidden the corrupt methods are, they will always leave traces." Xiong Junbo, deputy director of the First Review and Investigation Office of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, analyzed that there are four main types of hidden corruption: first, relatives and friends are nominally named and act as backers, party-member cadres give "special care" and "fixed-point push" to enterprise business, and their relatives and friends join the stock or serve as executives under the guise of cooperating with enterprises, and obtain high benefits through nominal remuneration or dividends; Second, it is held by others on behalf of others and manipulated behind the scenes, with Party members and cadres holding shares in the name of others, and others acting as their own "white gloves", using legal and reasonable means as a cover, and becoming "shadow shareholders" themselves; Third, under the guise of investment and profit, party members and cadres symbolically invest a small amount of money, use their authority to support enterprises, and obtain high returns in the name of dividends, interest, and financial management; The fourth is the "one family, two systems" and the integration of government and business, combining politics and business in the family, using public power to provide assistance to those engaged in business, and giving economic support to those engaged in business, forming an interest chain of collusion between government and business.
Screen for abnormal situations, grasp "whether the business is actually performed" and other deep and scrutinized investigations, so that "shadow companies" and hidden corruption have nowhere to hide
"When handling such cases, on the one hand, it is necessary to start from the business contract, focus on whether the company's contract project is substantially carried out, and analyze whether there is a fictitious business contract; On the other hand, it is necessary to start screening the direction of funds in the bank accounts of relevant personnel, and at the same time compare with business contracts, trace the ins and outs of funds, and outline the chain of benefit transmission. Recently, at the simulation demonstration of the "shadow company" case handling of the Hongkou District Discipline Inspection Commission of Shanghai, Xu Ying, deputy director of the second supervision and inspection office of the Hongkou District Discipline Inspection Commission, reminded everyone that in the process of breaking through the conversation, it is necessary to grasp the "whether the business is actually performed" to dig up the root and explore the film, and cannot be led by the object by the nose.
In order to improve the ability to handle cases and improve the quality and efficiency, the Hongkou District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision sorted out the cases of "shadow companies" investigated and handled in recent years, analyzed the difficulties in investigation and handling, formed work experience in the handling of clues, external transfers, internal audits, and conversation tackling tough problems.
The so-called "three checks and three disclosures" means to find business abnormalities and directional care chains, and disclose the beginning and end point of the benefit transmission chain by checking the company's place of registration, business place, business scope and long-term directional cooperative relationship; Check the shareholders behind the scenes by checking the relationship network of personnel, the travel of enterprises (behind-the-scenes shareholders), and the simultaneous records of entry and exit, tourism, etc., and expose specific related persons; By checking bank statements, bulk consumption, securities accounts, etc., account transactions and asset abnormalities, and locking and exposing evidence of power realization and its chain, so that "shadow companies" and the corrupt hands behind the scenes can not hide.
"Sorting out the relationship between respondents and affiliated companies from the vast amount of information is the key to reviewing investigations." Zeng Xiangyang believes that to accurately crack down on "shadow companies", first, to find out whether the target under investigation and the affiliated company have a management relationship, business contacts, the number of years of cooperation, and the number of years; The second is to understand the growth history and prosperity history of affiliated companies, and compare and analyze with the work scope and length of service of the respondent; The third is to clarify the improper economic transactions between the subject of investigation and affiliated companies; The fourth is to understand whether there are any violations of rules and disciplines in the business transactions between the two through inspections and audits.
"The case was able to break through quickly, thanks to big data analysis, saving time to accurately lock down evidence." Talking about the case of Yang Chuansong, a former fourth-level researcher of the Pizhou City Archives in Jiangsu Province, the relevant person in charge of the Pizhou City Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision said.
Yang Chuansong acquiesced to his relatives setting up a "shadow company" to contract the business and profit from it. In the early stage of the initial review of the case, the special case team built a social relationship network with "immediate family members as the first layer, close relatives as the second layer, and management service objects + close contacts as the third layer" around Yang Chuansong based on household registration information, close contact information, and management service objects + close contacts as the third layer, and used abnormal data algorithm models to screen the abnormal property, funds and economic transactions of relevant personnel layer by layer, and the suspicious points were then exposed.
Yang Chuansong's relatives have two companies under their names, mainly engaged in safety inspection, engineering construction and other businesses, both over the age of 60, no fixed jobs, and do not have the above industry practice and management capabilities. When the company was established, it was when Yang Chuansong was the former director of the Bureau of Safety Supervision and the former Bureau of Agricultural Resources of Pizhou City.
After investigation, in 2016, when Yang Chuansong was the former director of the Safety Supervision Bureau, he arranged for a "shadow company" to falsely undertake the security inspection business of a certain unit and defrauded 20,20 yuan of public funds; In addition, a third-party company will be arranged to complete the safety inspection, and the safety supervision bureau will pay an inspection fee of 3,2018 yuan; At the same time, the third-party company received a benefit fee of 30,2022 yuan. In the second half of 8, when he was the former director of the Agricultural Resources Bureau, he made a profit of more than <>,<> yuan again. Both embezzlement of public funds and bribery, "collection" at both ends. In August <>, Yang Chuansong was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office, and his suspected crimes were transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution according to law.
Adhere to systematic governance that treats both the symptoms and the root causes, and improve the effectiveness of governance of hidden corruption issues
"'Shadow companies' tend to hide in key areas such as bidding and bidding, engineering construction, and government procurement, so we focus on the characteristics of state-owned enterprises with many engineering projects, government procurement, and capital resources, pay close attention to the 'key minority' and key areas of power operation in the supervision and governance of state-owned enterprises, carry out special governance, and strictly prevent state-owned enterprises from becoming 'corruption depressions' in 'development highlands'." The relevant person in charge of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Shishi City, Fujian Province said.
Local discipline inspection and supervision organs focus on key departments that are capital-intensive and resource-rich, focus on key areas such as bulk procurement, real estate development, and project bidding and bidding, focus on analyzing and judging clues about the problem of "shadow companies", increase the intensity of investigation and handling of business activities that use their authority or influence to seek benefits, promote the use of cases to promote reform and treatment, improve and improve supervision mechanisms, persist in treating both the symptoms and the root causes, and systematically manage the hidden corruption of "shadow companies".
The threshold is moved forward to "cure the disease". With the help of the smart supervision platform of municipal state-owned enterprises, the Shishi Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision focuses on the "key minority" of state-owned enterprises, pays close attention to key areas and key links, and sets up eight functional modules such as funds, financing, finance, engineering, procurement, assets, office, and supervision in key economic fields such as project bidding and property rights transactions of state-owned enterprises, implements supervision, early warning, analysis and disposal of important risk points of state-owned enterprises, promotes state-owned enterprises to earnestly perform their main responsibilities, check and fill in gaps, promote the establishment of rules and regulations, standardize management, and prevent the risk of "shadow companies" from the source.
Focusing on digging deep and scrutinizing the clues of the "shadow company" problem, the Jiande Discipline Inspection Commission Supervision Commission established a big data supervision laboratory, and continuously developed a personalized supervision system to expand the field of supervision.
"Here, according to model analysis, we can 'stitch' the fragments of 'people, things, and things' information that seem to be not strongly related into a meticulous supervision network, and keep an eye on all links of the operation of public power." Chen Meihua, member of the Standing Committee of the Jiande Discipline Inspection Commission and member of the Supervision Committee, said that through big data comparison and verification of information on party-member leading cadres, personnel in key positions and their relatives doing business and running enterprises, clues to problems can be discovered in time and the quality, efficiency and accuracy of supervision work can be improved.
Analyze the law of case occurrence, promote special governance, and do a good job of using cases to promote reform. Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, has clearly deepened the list of 4 tasks in four aspects, including "use of power", "use of money" and "employment of personnel", focused on rectifying the problems of leading cadres, especially the "number one", interfering in project bidding and meddling in platform company engineering projects, seriously investigating and dealing with the problem of participating in platform financing business through "shadow companies" and seeking illegal profits in the name of intermediary fees, and resolutely cutting off the corruption chain behind financing brokers. The Pizhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision has dug deep into the "shadow companies" behind cases of using authority or position influence to carry out business activities to seek benefits, as well as cases of long-term and fixed bribery and profit transmission. Promote the establishment of "blacklists" by industry regulatory departments, forming a joint supervisory force through methods such as credit punishments, qualification restrictions, and industry prohibitions. At the same time, strengthen education in party spirit, inherit good family customs, require party-member cadres to manage their families and staff around them, standardize the conduct of spouses, children and their spouses in doing business and running enterprises, and make it clear that they must not seek personal interests by entrusting proxy holdings or investing anonymously. (Reporter Guan Xiaopu)