On September 21, Zhang Zhilin suddenly became a hot search topic. According to Hong Kong media reports, Zhang Zhilin was taken away by the police for being involved in a major case worth more than 1.3 billion yuan.
At present, 11 people have been arrested, and all parties are still investigating, which shows how serious the incident is!
However, Zhang Zhilin quickly posted a response to the situation. Zhang Zhilin just went to assist in the investigation. Now that he has returned safely, I have listed and clarified the relevant circumstances of the case.
According to Zhang Zhilin, he only shot a promotional film for the subject matter involved in the case last year. After learning that the subject involved did not have a business license, he immediately terminated the cooperation and asked the other party not to use Zhang Zhilin for publicity.
This case is a "virtual currency" scam, but I heard that many celebrities have participated, such as Lin Junjie, Wang Continental, Fang Zuming, etc., and they are said to have supported similar activities. Stephen Chow also announced on social platforms that he wanted to enter the field of virtual currency, which inevitably attracted attention. Are these people going to be finished?
In March 2022, Zhang Zhilin filmed a promotional advertisement for a virtual asset trading platform called JPEX, according to Hong Kong media reports. The platform claims to make it easy for investors to earn high returns, and it has also been endorsed by a Hong Kong female star. However, the platform has recently been exposed as a fraud gang, which has defrauded more than 1 billion yuan, and most of the victims are ordinary Hong Kong citizens. They may have believed in the reliability of the platform because they saw photos of Zhang Zhilin and female celebrities.
When the police investigated the case, they found that Zhang Zhilin was close to the platform. Not only does he shoot commercials, but he may also be involved in other deals. Therefore, the police decided to take Zhang Zhilin away for further questioning. If evidence of Zhang Zhilin's collusion or complicity with the fraud gang is confirmed, he will face serious legal consequences.
In fact, the reason why Zhang Zhilin fell into such a predicament is largely related to the luxurious life of him and his wife Yuen Yongyi. We all know that Hong Kong's entertainment industry is not as prosperous as it used to be, and many Hong Kong artists have moved to the mainland or other regions in search of opportunities. Although veteran stars like Zhang Zhilin have a certain popularity and influence, their income is far less than that of some popular stars in the mainland.
However, Cheung and Yuen have a soft spot for luxury goods, and almost always buy the latest and most expensive designer bags, clothes, jewelry, etc. According to Hong Kong media reports, their home is very luxurious, and even the sheets are Hermès limited editions and worth a lot. Moreover, they often travel abroad to enjoy high-end hotels and delicious cuisine. Their standard of living is simply amazing.
In order to maintain such a life, Zhang Zhilin had to find a way to make money. In addition to filming and participating in variety shows, he also received a lot of advertising endorsements. This time, he endorsed the JPEX platform because the endorsement fee provided by this platform was very high, so Zhang Zhilin agreed without considering the consequences. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a big mistake in his life.
For Zhang Zhilin's incident, netizens expressed shock and anger. Many people believe that as a public figure, Zhang Zhilin should have a sense of social responsibility and a bottom line of morality, and should not unscrupulously mislead the public to invest in fraudulent platforms for money. He not only damaged his own image and reputation, but also countless victims. Some people even directly say that Zhang Zhilin is a "glutton" who "eats ugly and looks ugly".
Of course, there were also expressions of sympathy and understanding. They believe that Zhang Zhilin may just be kept in the dark and do not know the real situation of this platform. He is just an actor, not a financial expert, and does not have the ability to judge the legitimacy and reliability of a platform. He just wanted to make some money and make a better life for himself and his family. He did not have malicious intent, nor did he deliberately deceive the public. They hope that the police can handle the case fairly and restore Zhang Zhilin's innocence.
No matter what netizens think about this, the facts have already happened, and the consequences can be very serious. It is reported that the case has attracted great attention from the Hong Kong government and entertainment industry. The Government has set up a task force to fully investigate and recover this fraud ring. The entertainment industry also strictly regulates and supervises celebrity endorsement behavior, requiring celebrities to fully understand and review the endorsement object before accepting any endorsement, and cannot arbitrarily endorse some unqualified or problematic platforms or products.
For Zhang Zhilin himself, this incident is undoubtedly a huge blow to his career and life. If he is really proven to be involved or colluding with a scam syndicate, he faces jail time and may be banned from the entertainment industry. Even if he makes an unintentional mistake and does not intentionally participate in the fraud, he must bear the corresponding legal responsibility and compensate the victim for the loss. Moreover, he has lost the trust and respect of the public, and his image and reputation will be difficult to recover.
That being said, people die for money, birds die for food. With the consumption level of Zhang Zhilin's family, it is no wonder that he "eats not picky eaters"!
There are many rumors that Cheung Zhilin and Yuen Yongyi are "superficial couples", but judging from the fact that Cheung Zhilin is willing to spend money to buy big-name bags for Yuen Yongyi, those rumors are just rumors.
Once upon a time, Liu Luanxiong revealed that his wife Camby owned 700 Hermes bags, and Yuen Wing-yee may only have much more than that. According to this amount, the value of all of Yuen Yongyi's bags should be close to 100 million.
Two years ago, some netizens encountered Yuen Yongyi's "sweep" of the mall. It is said that she bought 6 Hermes bags and 16 clothes in one go, and returned with a full load.
But a pair! As the saying goes, two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed. Zhang Zhilin is as powerful as Yuen Yongyi.
Yuen Yongyi likes designer bags, while Cheung Zhilin likes to collect luxury cars. Two million Lamborghini were collected without blinking an eye. Among them are several Ferraris worth around 5 million, and these are just the "tip of the iceberg" of several luxury cars in his collection.
In order to meet their consumption preferences, Zhang Zhilin and Yuen Yongyi rented a house for 16 years, with a monthly rent of 150,000 yuan. The rest of the money is used to generate electricity for their love.
Only with expenses can you be motivated to work and earn money. Zhang Zhilin and Yuen Yongyi have been active in the mainland in recent years and should have made a lot of money.
I can only say that celebrity endorsements need to be cautious and not greedy for profit. There should be a proper bottom line. At the same time, you should also do more research. Know yourself and your enemies and you will win. Why don't anyone do anything good and harmless? What to do?
Of course, this case itself is also worthy of warning. You need to clearly consider the consequences of any decision you make, and you can't interfere with any kind of work. There must be a bottom line. In short, this incident has brought us many enlightenments and warnings. First, it is necessary to improve financial literacy and risk awareness. We must carefully consider and investigate before investing.
We must not trust some unqualified or problematic platforms or products, let alone blindly follow the trend because of celebrity endorsements. Secondly, we must have a clear understanding of the stars in the entertainment industry. They are not necessarily upright and kind. Some people can do anything for money, even at the expense of their image and reputation, regardless of the interests and feelings of the public.
Finally, we call on the government and the media to strengthen supervision and regulation of the entertainment industry, severely punish and expose those illegal or unethical behaviors, so that those black-hearted stars pay the price they deserve, and those victims can also receive fair compensation and comfort.