Two subsidiaries' executives of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery, the largest domestic agricultural machinery chain enterprise were arrested on suspicion of bribery. What happened behind this?
On May 16th noon, Jifeng Agricultural Machinery announced that Mr. Liu Bo, Chairman and General Manager as well as legal representative of its subsidiary Jilin Jifeng Jiniao Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Jilin Company) was arrested by the public security organs on suspicion of "unit bribery"; Mr. Lai Han, director of its subsidiary Chongqing Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Chongqing Company) was also arrested by the public security organs on suspicion of "unit bribery". Jifeng Agricultural Machinery's announcement said that in view of the fact that the cases are currently still in the investigation stage, the company will disclose relevant information in time after obtaining further determined information from relevant departments.
The operation situation and performance analysis of the main subsidiaries of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery in the 2010 annual report showed that among the 160 subsidiaries of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery, Jilin Company ranked first in consolidated net profit, and Chongqing Company ranked eighth. In 2010, the net profit of Jilin Company was 14.2118 million yuan, and the net profit of Chongqing Company was 3.7269 million yuan.
Chairman: Involved in agricultural subsidies
"Mr. Liu Bo and Mr. Lai Han were not arrested at the same time, there is no connection between these two matters." Diao Haili said that the company will strengthen the management of subsidiaries and cooperate well with the investigation work of the judicial organs. Currently, the operation and management work of Jilin Company and Chongqing Company are carried out normally.
During the interview, Diao Haili's phone was busy, most of the calls were asking about the situation of the arrest of the executives of the two subsidiaries.
To encourage and support farmers to use advanced agricultural machinery, the country has implemented the national agricultural machinery purchase subsidy system for seven consecutive years since 2004. Jifeng Agricultural Machinery stated in its 2010 annual report that subsidized machinery is one of the main business sectors of the company. The company has a large number of chain direct stores nationwide, and the proportion of sales of subsidized products is still relatively high. If the national agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy changes negatively, it may affect the rapid development of the company's operating scale and the effective improvement of operating benefits.
Chongqing Company: No comment on the case
It is reported that Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Chongqing Company is a direct company of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery. Public data shows that the director of the company, Mr. Lai Han, who was detained in the case, was born in 1964 and once served as the director of the assembly workshop of Dongfeng Nanchong Diesel Engine Factory. Mr. Lai Han resigned from his position as a director of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery on April 14, 2011. As of April 14, 2011, he held 1.0566 million shares of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery.
"I am just a gatekeeper here. There are only me and a sales representative working here." The above-mentioned staff member said that this place is mainly the warehouse of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery. "The leaders of the company work in Yubei District. I don't know about Mr. Lai Han's arrest," the above-mentioned staff member said.
"I took office as the general manager of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Chongqing Company after the Spring Festival." Zhao Yongliang said that he also serves as the chairman of Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Guizhou Company. "It's not because Director Lai (Lai Han) got into trouble that I took office," Zhao Yongliang emphasized.
"The arrest of Director Lai (Lai Han) is a fact, Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Chongqing Company learned about this matter a month ago, but I cannot make any comments on the case itself now," Zhao Yongliang said.
Jilin Company: Bribery occurred in 2008
In January 2010, Jifeng Agricultural Machinery announced that it would increase capital in Jilin Jiniao Agricultural Machinery for 24.048 million yuan and thereby obtain 45.5% of the shares. Before Jifeng Agricultural Machinery invested, Mr. Liu Bo held 39.8% of the shares of Jiniao. After Jifeng Agricultural Machinery increased capital and invested, Mr. Liu Bo's shareholding ratio was reduced to 27.11%.
Since January this year, relevant departments of the country have intensified the supervision of agricultural machinery product subsidies. From January 11 to February 23, in just one and a half months, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance issued three consecutive documents, emphasizing the work discipline of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies.
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