In order to allow Zhao Peng to be "lightly sentenced", the family found fellow villager Zhang Xuefeng to "operate" through the introduction of Wang Xiaowei, a fellow villager in Henan. On November 15, 2022, Zhao Peng's sister Zhao Kun brought a "Loan Contract" and asked Zhang Xuefeng and his ex-wife Zhao Chunhuan to sign it. Before the two signed, the contract already had the signature and fingerprint of Zhao Peng's wife, Ms. Li. According to the "Loan Contract", Ms. Li lent Zhang Xuefeng and Zhao Chunhuan 4.5 million yuan through a designated account, and the loan period was 3 months, and no interest was agreed.
After Zhao Chunhuan received the money, he handed Wang Xiaowei 500,000 yuan as an "introduction fee", and then transferred 3 million yuan to his fellow villager Lu Min, who handled the matter specifically.
Before Zhao Peng was arrested, he was a senior deputy manager of the Yangcheng branch of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank), and his younger sister Zhao Kun was the secretary of the party committee and president of the Jiangmen branch of the Industrial Bank Co., Ltd., and later transferred to the party committee member and vice president of the Huizhou branch of the industrial bank. Zhao Peng is accused of taking advantage of his position to accept bribes of 184 million yuan and illegally issuing loans, involving up to 1.2 billion yuan in loan funds. About half a year later, Zhao Peng was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court.
Because the purpose was not achieved, Zhao Peng's family demanded that Zhang Xuefeng return the fee. At this time, the handler Lu Min could no longer be contacted. In August this year, Zhang Xuefeng went to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Jinshui Bureau of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau to report the case, saying that he had been defrauded by Lu Min. At present, the case is still being processed.
Zhao Chunhuan said that they had returned 200,000 yuan on July 6 this year, and in the same month, Zhao Peng's wife, Ms. Li, filed a lawsuit with the Xiangzhou District Court in Zhuhai City, demanding that the two of them return the 4.3 million yuan loan. The case will be heard in the Xiangzhou District Court on January 11, 2024.
In response to this matter, Zhao Kun and Wang Xiaowei both refused to be interviewed.
The "receipt" issued by Lu Min promised that the fee would only be used exclusively for Zhao Peng's bribery case. All photos in this article are courtesy of the interviewee
The deputy manager of the bank was arrested on suspicion of economic crimes, and his family asked his fellow villagers for "activity relations"
According to the indictment issued by the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate on December 23, 2022, Zhao Peng was born in 1978 and is a senior deputy manager of the Yangcheng branch of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. In November 2019, Zhao Peng was sentenced to be exempted from criminal punishment by the Haizhu District Court of Guangzhou City for dangerous driving. On April 2, 2022, Zhao Peng was detained by the Guangzhou Liwan District Supervision Committee on suspicion of violating the law and committing crimes. On September 30 of the same year, Zhao Peng was criminally detained by the Liwan District Public Security Bureau. On the same day, the Liwan District Supervision Committee transferred Zhao Peng to the Liwan District Procuratorate for prosecution on suspicion of accepting bribes and illegally issuing loans. The Liwan District Procuratorate reported to the Guangzhou Municipal Procuratorate on November 8 of the same year.
Zhao Peng and his sister Zhao Kun are from Shangqiu, Henan. After Zhao Peng was arrested, Zhao Kun met Zhang Xuefeng, a native of Kaifeng, Henan Province, through his fellow countryman Wang Xiaowei. Zhang Xuefeng is 38 years old, unemployed, and lives in Shenzhen, like Wang Xiaowei. According to public information, Zhao Kun also worked in the bank at that time, and she served as the secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Jiangmen Branch of Industrial Bank Co., Ltd.
Zhang Xuefeng's ex-wife Zhao Chunhuan told The Paper that on November 15, 2022, Zhao Kun, Wang Xiaowei and his girlfriend, Zhang Xuefeng and her, a total of 5 people, came to a club opened by Wang Xiaowei in Shenzhen. Under the witness of Wang Xiaowei, she, Zhang Xuefeng and Zhao Kun signed a "loan contract". According to the "Loan Contract", Zhao Peng's wife, Ms. Li, as Party A, lent 4.5 million yuan to Zhang Xuefeng and Zhao Chunhuan for a period of 3 months, from November 15, 2022 to February 15, 2022 (note: clerical error, should be 2023). The funds are transferred to Zhao Chunhuan's bank account from the account designated by Party A. However, the loan contract did not stipulate interest.
Zhao Chunhuan said that Ms. Li did not come that day, and before we signed the "loan contract", Ms. Li's signature and handprint were already on it.
The screenshot of the WeChat chat between Zhao Kun and Zhang Xuefeng provided by Zhao Chunhuan shows that at 11:58 on the day the "Loan Contract" was signed, Zhao Kun added Zhang Xuefeng's WeChat. At 15:30 on the same day, Zhao Kun sent a text message saying "It has been transferred", and Zhang Xuefeng replied with a voice "Received, sister".
Zhao Chunhuan introduced that Lu Min is a native of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and was her neighbor, and heard that "there are some relationships in the family". On November 15, 2022, she and Lu Min signed another contract in accordance with the template of the aforementioned "Loan Contract", which stated that Zhao Chunhuan would lend 3 million yuan to Lu Min. Bank transfer information shows that at 20:30 on the same day, Zhao Chunhuan transferred 3 million yuan to the account designated by Lu Min. Lu Min issued a "receipt" and promised on the "receipt" that "this money will only be used exclusively for Zhao Peng's bribery case". At 10:46 the next day, Zhao Chunhuan transferred another 500,000 yuan to the account designated by Wang Xiaowei.
Zhao Chunhuan said that so far, Zhao Kun handed Zhang Xuefeng 4.5 million yuan of "service money" has been distributed: Wang Xiaowei received 500,000 yuan for the introduction fee, Lu Min received 3 million yuan for the "special fund", and Zhang Xuefeng retained 1 million yuan.
Screenshot of the chat conversation between Zhao Kun and Zhang Xuefeng.
The intermediary promised to only sentence him to less than five years, or even "give three suspended sentences and four suspended sentences"
After the money was in place, Zhang Xuefeng, as an intermediary, communicated with Zhao Kun and Lu Min about the handling of the case.
A screenshot of Zhao Kun's WeChat chat with Zhang Xuefeng shows that on November 17, 2022, Zhao Kun asked "if there is any progress", and Zhang Xuefeng replied: "I will go to see the leader tomorrow afternoon, and I will not be allowed to say it on the phone." Since then, the two sides have communicated the situation on WeChat many times. On December 7, Zhang Xuefeng said that "the prosecution proposal will be notified as soon as it is changed" and "everything has been arranged, just waiting for the prosecution". On December 22, Zhao Kun told Zhang Xuefeng again, "Tomorrow is the time to transfer for prosecution, you have to make sure with that side, and the transfer to the court will be final, and there will be no turning back." Zhang Xuefeng comforted Zhao Kun: "People here have also promised us, let's just wait for the result, and we will achieve the result we want." ”
However, things did not go in the direction that these people had hoped. According to the indictment, the prosecution accused Zhao Peng of using his position as the risk director of the Shanghai Business Center of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank between 2013 and 2021. The deputy general manager of the credit approval department of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank presided over the work of the convenience of his position, provided assistance to related companies in applying for financing loans from Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, and illegally accepted property from related companies totaling more than 184 million yuan, either alone or in conjunction with others, and the prosecutor also alleged that Zhao Peng illegally issued three loans from 2018 to 2019, involving 1.2 billion yuan in loan funds. The Guangzhou City Procuratorate held that Zhao Peng, as a state functionary, took advantage of his position to seek benefits for others and illegally accepted other people's property, the amount of which was particularly huge, and he should be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of accepting bribes; Zhao Peng, as a bank functionary, issued loans in violation of state regulations, and the amount was particularly huge, and he should be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of illegally issuing loans.
Although there is no change in the content of the lawsuit and the amount involved, Zhao Kun still chooses to continue to believe Zhang Xuefeng and Lu Min. On January 12, 2023, Zhao Kun said that the case had been assigned to the judge, and asked Zhang Xuefeng about the next step. At this time, Zhang Xuefeng still asked Zhao Kun for a package ticket: "Everything has been arranged, the prosecutor and the judge have already communicated, and we will do it according to our expected goals! The results have been decided, you can rest assured!" Zhao Kun asked again: "Are you sure that it will be under 5 years?" Zhang Xuefeng replied, "It will not change under 5 years." On April 21, Zhao Kun asked again whether the result was less than five years, and Zhang Xuefeng said, "The worst result is less than seven years." ”
By May 5, Zhao Kun began to waver. He asked Zhang Xuefeng if the person he was looking for was capable, don't delay things. Zhang Xuefeng told Zhao Kun that Lu Min said that there was a great hope that he would be "sentenced to three suspended sentences", and Zhao Peng would be released on bail before June 1.
After finding Lu Min, Zhang Xuefeng reported the case to the Henan police.
Filing a lawsuit for a refund of "service fees" with private loans
However, the follow-up situation has not and cannot develop as Zhang Xuefeng and Lu Min said.
According to Chen Ye, a lawyer at Chongqing Zhun Law Firm, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the mainland criminal law and judging from the content of the indictment, if Zhao Peng's behavior is finally found by the court to constitute a crime, judging from the amount of bribes (up to 180 million) alone, Zhao Peng's behavior meets the criteria for a particularly huge amount of bribes (more than 3 million) or other particularly serious circumstances, and the starting point is ten years. If you take into account the criminal record of illegally issuing loans and dangerous driving, Zhao Peng will not be sentenced to probation at all.
On June 12, 2023, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court held a trial of Zhao Peng's case of accepting bribes and illegally issuing loans. Not only did Zhao Peng fail to "come out" before June 1, but even the court date was told to Zhang Xuefeng by Zhao Kun.
At this time, Zhao Kun's work changed: on June 9, Zhao Kun ceased to serve as secretary of the party committee and president of the Jiangmen branch of the Industrial Bank, and was transferred to the post of member of the party committee and vice president of the Huizhou branch of the industrial bank.
Zhao Chunhuan said that Zhao Peng was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first instance. She didn't know the exact date of the verdict because she didn't have the verdict in her hand, but it was supposed to be June or July.
For Zhao Kun, the money was spent, but things were messed up. Zhao Kun began to ask Zhang Xuefeng to return the money, and Zhang Xuefeng asked Lu Min and Wang Xiaowei to return the money. On July 6, according to Zhao Kun's request, Zhang Xuefeng transferred 200,000 yuan to Ms. Li's account through Zhao Chunhuan's account.
On the same day, Zhao Kun went to Zhao Chunhuan's home and signed a "Supplementary Agreement to the Loan Contract" with Zhao Chunhuan under the witness of a friend of Wang Xiaowei, stipulating that the remaining 4.3 million yuan would be returned before July 9, and the interest would be calculated at an annual interest rate of 10%. Because Zhang Xuefeng was looking for Lu Min in Henan that day, he signed the "Supplementary Agreement to the Loan Contract" after returning home.
Because Zhang Xuefeng failed to repay the 4.3 million yuan by July 9, Ms. Li filed a civil lawsuit with the Xiangzhou District Court of Zhuhai City, demanding that Zhang Xuefeng and Zhao Chunhuan return the loan principal of 4.3 million yuan and more than 290,000 yuan in interest. The Paper has learned that the case will be tried on January 11, 2024.
Because he was never able to contact Lu Min, on August 23, Zhang Xuefeng went to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Jinshui Bureau of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau to report the case, saying that he had been defrauded by Lu Min, and the police issued a "Receipt of Acceptance of the Case" to Zhang Xuefeng. Zhao Chunhuan asked the police about the progress of the case on December 19, and the police replied orally that Lu Min had not yet been found.
According to information from the China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network, Lu Min was listed as a dishonest person subject to execution in February 2017 for failing to fulfill the obligations determined by the effective legal documents (repaying 6 million yuan in arrears).
Zhao Chunhuan said that Zhang Xuefeng was criminally detained on November 17, 2023, by the Jinshui Bureau of the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau on suspicion of refusing to carry out the judgment and ruling. In addition, Wang Xiaowei told her on December 26, 2023 that Wang Xiaowei would directly refund the 500,000 yuan referral fee to Zhao Kun.
The Paper noticed that Zhao Kun graduated from China University of Political Science and Law with a major in law, so why did she believe in the so-called "relationship"? The reporter contacted Zhao Kun many times, but received no response from him. In addition, Wang Xiaowei refused to respond to this matter, nor did he tell whether he had returned Zhao Kun's 500,000 yuan.