Chapter 726: No Money

I asked somewhat disbelievingly,

"Impossible, Xiao Feng. You know Zhou Renfeng saved for his son in the Swiss bank with the best reputation in the world."

"Once this money is deposited,"

"it will never be lost, and it also guarantees confidentiality."

"What the heck, Jianqiang, you only look at their ads—whatever deposit, after many years they find the heirs and give the principal and interest to the heirs."

"These are all false advertisements."

"To open an account with them, the minimum deposit is over one million US dollars."

"Moreover, the procedures are troublesome."

"Now, among Chinese people who deposit money in their bank, few of these funds have legitimate sources."

"If your money is suspected of being involved in crime,"

"then they have the right to confiscate the illegal gains."

"That is, the money you deposit, you cannot truly call it your own."

"Earlier, Lao Ye had a superior who embezzled a lot of money in the mine and tried to deposit it."

"He wanted to leave it for his child."

"He would rather go to jail than give up the money."

"As a result, when his child grew up and wanted to use that money, they directly confiscated it."

"Because the money his father deposited was illicit gains, illegal income."

"They have the right to confiscate it."

"Moreover, you dare not complain, because your money's source is unclear, so you cannot cry injustice."

"You can only suffer in silence." Xiao Feng explained.

"Upon hearing that, I thought to myself,"

"Damn, they hate it—outwardly they promote one thing, but in practice they do another."

"They just want to scheme every way to get the money from criminals' hands."

"As long as you dare to deposit, they dare to take it."

"Then they leave you with nothing, and you dare not say anything."

"They still openly take your money."

"Sigh. Compared to bandits, they are much more formidable."

"Alright, let Zhao Jie try it tomorrow and then we'll talk." I said to Xiao Feng.

"Xiao Feng nodded,"

"Jianqiang, after finishing this matter, I will go to Hainan to find Lao Ye and handle the procedures."

"That's great. Then let Ding Li accompany you." I arranged.

"Ding Li, don't go. The mine's management still can't do without him." Xiao Feng said.

"We'll decide later. If I have nothing else, I'll stand in for Ding Li for a few days." I said.

"Exactly, Xiao Feng Sis, I'm not at ease letting you go to Hainan alone." Ding Li said.

"I laughed,"

"Let's handle this tomorrow first, see if Zhao Jie can withdraw the money."

"Time quickly came to the next day,"

"Zhao Jie and Xiao Feng together logged into his overseas account."

"The result was they couldn't log in."

"Then there was a foreign email in his mailbox; Xiao Feng translated it with the computer,"

"the meaning was that this sum had been frozen."

"To use it, one must prove the money's legal source."

"Zhao Jie looked at it and immediately started cursing."

"Then he took out his phone and dialed an overseas call."

"As soon as the phone rang, someone answered; Zhao Jie deliberately put it on speaker."

"From inside came a foreigner's voice,"

"Zhao Jie directly questioned him about the money on the call,"

"this guy, however, laughed and explained fluently in Chinese,"

"\"Mr. Zhou, this money, when we processed it back then, I already made it clear to your father."

"If it was illegal gains, it could be confiscated."

"Your father himself had an incident domestically."

"Then this money could only be frozen."

"If you want to use this money, you must first prove its legal source."

"And you also need to personally go to Switzerland once,"

"then wait for their bank's investigation before they can give an answer."

"Zhao Jie, furious, yelled into the phone: 'Damn your mother.'"

"Then he hung up the phone."

"After hanging up, Zhao Jie spread his hands toward me,"

"\"Brother Zhao, this money, there's no way to get it in hand."

"Damn, how am I to prove this money is legitimate income."

I'm fine as long as I'm alive now.

Because Xiao Feng told me about this money yesterday, something might go wrong.

I already had it figured out in my mind.

They've already set the trap, just waiting for people like us to walk into it.

I looked at Zhao Jie; his demeanor wasn't particularly anxious.

I took out a cigarette,

handed him one,

"You just contacted those people," I asked.

"His name is Jack, he's from the United Kingdom, and he handles our family's overseas assets,"

"People like my father have dedicated staff for overseas assets, commonly called overseas stewards," Zhao Jie said.

I nodded,

"Do they also handle transferring domestic money abroad?" I asked.

"They only handle part of it. After the casino transfers money abroad, they take care of laundering it, then manage our assets.

Our assets are usually deposited in banks.

Some are invested in trusts, stocks, and real estate, all handed over to them for management," Zhao Jie explained.

"How does this Jack launder money for your family?" I asked again.

"Jack is a minor director abroad; he mainly launders money by investing in movies," Zhao Jie said.

That piqued my interest; the Zhou Family's laundering method differs from the Wang Family's.

The Wang Family invests in artworks.

"Tell me, how can investing in movies be used to launder money?" I asked, a bit confused.

Zhao Jie took a drag,

"Zhao Ge, you don't know, but this method is now popular domestically for laundering money."

A film can be invested with hundreds of millions, and how the money is spent is virtually untraceable.

Props and sets are burned, reported as tens of millions spent outward, but actually only a few hundred thousand.

Actor fees can exceed a hundred million; they take a small portion, and the rest is returned.

Many invest in movies solely to launder money, not expecting profit. That's why you see many trashy films on the market.

These films claim investments of hundreds of millions, even more, but a lot of that money is laundered out.

Jack handles exactly this kind of operation abroad.

Many big bosses and underworld figures seek him,

to have him launder money. He's said to be very famous overseas.

If my father hadn't had an incident, he certainly wouldn't dare swallow this sum.

He would help us move the money out," Zhao Jie said.

"You're right. If your father hadn't had an incident, you wouldn't have to go down the well. You're still the dashing young master,

maybe you're currently gambling lavishly at that casino," I said, looking at Zhao Jie.

"Yeah, sigh, those days aren't very meaningful. Forget it, the past is unbearable to recall."

Zhao Ge, the money's gone, I can't help you either.

I'm leaving; I have a shift tonight and need to go rest," Zhao Jie said.

I signaled that Zhao Jie could leave.

After Zhao Jie left,

Xiao Feng said,

"This money can't be retrieved,

Once it's frozen, if the account holder can't prove legitimate income within three years, the money becomes an ownerless account.

Then there's a two‑year grace period. If still unclaimed, it becomes bank assets.

So we shouldn't even think about this money."

"What's a little money? I never even thought about it," I laughed.

"That money's still small—it's nearly a hundred million. Zhao Ge, you're not kidding, are you?" Ding Li said.

"Ding Li, you really trust Zhao Jie, feeling safe mining coal here," I asked Ding Li.

"He isn't safely mining coal here; he has nowhere to go either.

If he wanted to run, he would have run long ago," Ding Li said.

"No, I don't think so. When he just contacted that Jack,

Jack quickly answered his call,

How did Jack know it was Zhao Jie's number? That shows they communicate frequently.

Why do they need to stay in touch so often? That's really something," I took another drag.