Fraud

PwC’s Evergrande crisis deepens with record Hong Kong settlement and criminal probes

Evergrande’s fraud has caught up with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong, bringing major fines, client exits and criminal probes, and casting doubt over the accounting giant’s future in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Caixin Global

US-China rivalry undermines fight against cyber scams in Southeast Asia

China and the US have reasons to work together to tackle the scourge of cyberfraud in Southeast Asia. The problem, however, is that their geopolitical rivalry gets in the way.

Stephen Olson

Evergrande’s Hui Ka Yan: From rags to empire to prison

The collapse of Evergrande and its chairman Hui Ka Yan, marks the end of the man-made property boom in China. Lianhe Zaobao’s China news editor Yang Danxu traces the rise and fall of China’s former richest man.

Yang Danxu

China captures Prince Group associate tied to US$24 billion crypto network

The arrest of a senior associate of alleged crime boss Chen Zhi exposes the hidden machinery behind Prince Group’s empire, as China’s widening crackdown pulls back the curtain on a vast Southeast Asian network of scams, gambling and illicit finance.

Caixin Global

Why alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi was sent to China, not the US

Despite facing criminal charges in the US, Prince Group founder and chairman Chen Zhi was deported to China. His case sheds light on Cambodia’s geopolitical calculations — and why Beijing’s pull outweighed Washington’s claims. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Liu looks at the implications.

Liu Liu

Why Taiwan is cracking down on RedNote

Taiwan’s crackdown on RedNote isn’t about ideology or censorship, asserts Taiwan academic Ho Ming-sho. It’s a legal showdown over accountability, as the island demands foreign platforms obey its laws — or lose access.

Ho Ming-sho

How scammers are tarnishing Singapore’s incorruptible image

Singapore’s spotless reputation as a disciplined financial hub faces a reckoning as luxury property, philanthropy, and family offices become tools for global scam syndicates — testing how incorruptible the city-state truly is, says former journalist Goh Choon Kang.

Goh Choon Kang

How cryptocurrency is used to move billions of RMB in and out of China

Cryptocurrencies have lowered the barriers to running an underground currency exchange as they eliminate the need for large reserves of both local and foreign currencies. But their decentralised nature and degree of anonymity offered to users have also complicated supervision and law enforcement efforts.

Caixin Global

Trump-Musk joint reforms and the American constitutional crisis

What is the true purpose of recent audits and reforms by US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? Though they purportedly target corruption, researcher Zhu Ming says that they could be an attempt to undermine the constitution and consolidate power.

Zhu Ming

Chinese actor’s rescue recasts spotlight on telecom fraud

While Chinese actor Wang Xing survived his ordeal at the Thai-Myanmar border, many other victims of telecom fraud continue to be at risk. The scale of these operations across Southeast Asia makes them hard to root out. Meanwhile, the tourism sector in countries like Thailand may be taking a hit from the negative reports. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan tells us more.

Yu Zeyuan

How AstraZeneca’s China fraud was about more than greed

AstraZeneca, a London-based drugmaker which entered China in 1993, has been ensnared in several scandals in recent years. A three-year crackdown on alleged medical insurance fraud has led to an investigation into Leon Wang, the company’s president for the country.

Caixin Global

[Big read] Colluding in deceit: Will PwC get a second chance in China after the Evergrande scandal?

PwC in China has come under hot water after being implicated in the Evergrande fraud scandal. Lianhe Zaobao senior correspondent Chen Jing speaks with experts to find out if and how this Big Four accounting firm will recover from this debacle.

Chen Jing