Time: Mon Nov 24 05:34:14 1997
by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id FAA03936
for [address in tool bar]; Mon, 24 Nov 1997 05:23:40 -0700 (MST)
by smtp03.primenet.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) id FAA03041;
Mon, 24 Nov 1997 05:23:09 -0700 (MST)
via SMTP by smtp03.primenet.com, id smtpd003039; Mon Nov 24 05:23:00 1997
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 05:23:11 -0800
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: Newsweek: Pieces of the Chinese Puzzle (fwd)
<snip>
>
>N E W S W E E K
>December 1, 1997
>
>Nation/Scandals: Pieces of the Puzzle
>
>The Feds close in on the real flow of Chinese cash
>
>By Daniel Klaidman, Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball
>
> Every week the FBI agent arrives at the Grand National Bank in
>suburban Los Angeles. Unfailingly polite, he hauls away documents
>pertaining to bank accounts connected to Ted Sioeng, an Indonesian-born
>L.A. businessman. Lately he's been getting a bit impatient, pressing the
>employees who process his subpoenas to turn over more
>documents--quickly. Why? Because the tiny bank has become ground zero in
>the Feds' probe into the Asian connection.
>
> Sen. Fred Thompson's investigators couldn't produce proof of a
>Chinese plot to buy influence by illegally contributing to U.S.
>campaigns. But now Sioeng's bank accounts have yielded enough new
>evidence to prompt the Feds to convene a grand jury in L.A. to
>investigate Sioeng and other contributors. Confidential bank records
>examined by Newsweek show that Sioeng and his family received wire
>transfers from two Hong Kong holding companies at the same time he was
>giving to the Democratic National Committee. The companies, it turns
>out, handle Sioeng's business in China--which means Chinese money could
>have ended up in U.S. campaign coffers. Newsweek has learned that
>investigators also want to know why Sioeng was flying parties of Chinese
>provincial officials to the United States for "training courses" using
>Chinese money. And Sioeng was mentioned in intercepted Chinese
>communications in which Beijing officials discuss how to influence U.S.
>politics. Sioeng's lawyer says his client simply used real-estate
>profits to make political donations and that he adamantly denies being a
>Chinese agent. He won't discuss the criminal investigation.
>
> Though he speaks no English and flashes a Belize passport, Ted Sioeng
>had little trouble becoming a player in the Democratic Party last year.
>He dined with Bill Clinton and Al Gore after giving the DNC $250,000.
>But Sioeng has close ties to Chinese pols, too. His extensive business
>with China included a deal to import Chinese-made cigarettes to the
>United States. And bank documents show that his account received at
>least $2.1 million in wire transfers from two of his Hong Kong companies
>last year--at the same time he and his daughter were giving generously
>to the DNC.
>
> It's a classic case of following the money. On Feb. 19, for example,
>Sioeng's daughter wrote a check for $100,000 to the Democrats. Her
>account balance at the time was $10,000. Three days later she
>transferred $200,000 from her aunt's account into her own. Records show
>the aunt had just received $518,000 from Pristine Investments--one of
>Sioeng's Hong Kong outfits. Thompson's investigators say these
>transactions arouse suspicion that Sioeng's family broke a U.S. law that
>prohibits foreign campaign contributions. Last week the Feds also
>stepped up an inquiry into CCAID Executive Program Inc., a Sioeng-owned
>corporation that flies Chinese officials to California. Much of the
>money in that account came from the Bank of China, and the Feds want to
>know if it was used for donations. Sioeng's lawyer says Sioeng was just
>promoting closer ties between the two countries.
>
> Sioeng wasn't just a friend to the Democrats. In 1995 a family-owned
>business gave $50,000 to an offshoot of the Republican National
>Committee, and one of Sioeng's biggest beneficiaries was California
>Treasurer Matt Fong, who received $100,000 for his campaign. Sources
>close to the Sioeng family say Fong visited them 10 times looking for
>money and even stood over Sioeng as he wrote the checks. Fong gave the
>money back, saying he thought it was legitimate, but the Feds are
>investigating. Unfortunately, the person they'd most like to talk to
>isn't around. Ted Sioeng took off for Hong Kong last winter--and he
>probably isn't coming back soon.
>
>Newsweek 12/1/97 Nation/Scandals: Pieces of the Puzzle
>
<snip>
===========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell, Sui Juris : Counselor at Law, federal witness 01
B.A.: Political Science, UCLA; M.S.: Public Administration, U.C.Irvine 02
tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night 03
email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU 04
website: http://supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now 05
ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best 06
Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone 07
Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this 08
_____________________________________: Law is authority in written words 09
As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall 10
not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. 11
======================================================================== 12
[This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.] 13
Return to Table of Contents for
Supreme Law School: E-mail