Hong Kong Film Intelligence King

Chapter 319 It's really true, it's all true.
“Brother Zhong, there’s no problem with what you’re saying,” James said helplessly. “But for me and Inspector Chen, even if Shen Daban isn’t a billionaire and is just a professional manager, that doesn’t mean we can take advantage of him.”

“No matter what, he is a senior executive at HSBC.”

"Being in that position, one can mobilize far more resources than the two of us combined."

"Even my connections in Chongqing won't work."

Chen Xinjian nodded repeatedly.

James is right. Even if Shen Daban is just a professional manager, the platform he's on is big enough to allow him to leverage a lot of forces that he couldn't otherwise influence.

Just like the hosts of Zhuang'er TV, because the platform they are on has a large influence, they can meet many people they would not normally meet, such as political figures from other countries.

Anyone with common sense knows it's not that you, the host, are amazing, but rather that Zhuang'er TV station is amazing.

But the fool didn't think that way. He felt that he had a very good relationship with those political figures and that he was incredibly powerful.

So he foolishly resigned, and then went around giving orders and such... well, you can imagine what happened to him.

Chen Guozhong sighed:
"Why don't you two use your brains?"

Chen Xinjian and James exchanged a glance, both puzzled. Why wasn't he using his brain?
"Shen Daban is impressive, but there are others who are just as capable."

"Why should we be the ones charging ahead?"

The two were taken aback, feeling as if they were trying to grasp something but couldn't quite hold onto it.

Chen Guozhong took out his phone and dialed a number:
“Ximen, it’s me, Chen Guozhong.”

"Officer Chen, your performance today was fantastic! I saw it on TV," Simon said excitedly. "Are you going to tell me some good news?"

Chen Xinjian and James suddenly realized, "That's right!"

Why should we, the police, be the ones leading the charge?

Isn't there another guy who hates Shen Daban to the core?
Isn't it enough that he's leading the charge?

Ah Chung (Brother Chung) is really good at using his brain.

That's a great use of borrowing someone's strength to strike back!
"There are two pieces of news. As for whether they are good or bad, that's for you to judge," Chen Guozhong said calmly.

Simon immediately became alert: "Inspector Chen, do you mean... someone is going to sacrifice a pawn to save a pawn?"

Chen Guozhong bluntly stated:

"The case of William and his two companions has alarmed the Governor, and the Security Bureau has issued a directive to investigate it thoroughly."

Ximen pondered for a moment and said:
"This is good news...you're not going to pull a fast one, are you?"

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"You are indeed smart."

"However, the Security Bureau told me something: HSBC's CEO, Mr. Shen, has sued William and his two companions."

Simon didn't react for a moment:

"Did Shen Daban sue William and the other two?"

"Why?"

Chen Guozhong bluntly stated:

"There are some things I shouldn't tell you according to procedure."

"However, I imagine you wouldn't go around telling everyone."

Simon understood immediately and said:
Why would I go around spreading rumors?

"I was just curious, and besides, as the person who reported the case, it's only right that I check on the progress of the investigation..."

Chen Guozhong smiled and said:
"Here's what happened: William and the other two had accounts opened at HSBC. This afternoon, when I went to the ICAC to arrest them, something else happened..."

Chen Guozhong recounted the whole story to Ximen.

This is not in accordance with the rules.

However, neither Chen Xinjian, the direct supervisor, nor James, the supervisor's supervisor, said anything.

just kidding.

They needed Ximen to stop Shen Daban, so naturally they wouldn't stop Chen Guozhong from speaking.

They were eager for Chen Guozhong to explain in as much detail as possible!
"Huh? Shen Daban wants William and the other two to split the bill?" Simon immediately grasped the key point.

Chen Guozhong shrugged: "Based on the existing evidence, that's the case."

"Something's not right!" Simon shouted. "There's something fishy going on here."

Chen Guozhong laughed and said, "It's quite obvious."

“No!” Simon repeated, “Something’s very wrong!”

Chen Guozhong raised an eyebrow:

"What's wrong?"

“You’re a professional; we might get some inspiration from you.”

After thinking for a while, Ximen said in a deep voice:

"Shen Daban's accounts are unclear!"

Chen Guozhong was taken aback:
"We can't get our hands on Shen Daban's accounts."

Ximen sneered:
"No need for that. I dare say his accounts have serious problems!"

“The three of William have a combined total of 80 million Hong Kong dollars. Let’s put it all on Shen Daban’s head. That’s an 80 million Hong Kong dollar hole.”

"If this is the only hole of 80 million."

"After what happened this afternoon, if Boss Shen doubles the quota, it will be enough to close that hole."

"The accounts are perfect now!"

“Shen Daban did not do that; he directly quoted an astronomical figure—450 million Hong Kong dollars.”

“You don’t operate on the front lines, so you might not be very sensitive to this number.”

"To put it this way, if we calculate based on the share price, Hutchison Whampoa's total market value is only HK$600 million."

"These hundred people withdrew so much money all at once?"

"I do not believe!"

"I even doubt whether HSBC actually has HK$450 million in cash!"

“Shen Daban’s hole is clearly much larger than 450 million.”

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have sold out William and the other two!"

Simon became more and more excited as he spoke.

Chen Guozhong calmly countered with a question:
"How will this help us in solving the case?"

Ximen immediately fell silent.

Yes.

Do these things help with solving cases?
No!

Chen Guozhong reminded him:

“According to you, Shen Daban suffered heavy losses, so we must be careful of his counterattack.”

Ximen shouted:
"He dares!"

"HSBC has connections? Does Jardine Matheson not have connections?"

"Chen, you just focus on the case, I'll handle the rest!"

Chen Guozhong smiled and said:
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"To be honest, Mr. Chan, Mr. Wong, James and I are all under a lot of pressure."

"After all, someone gave William and the other two 80 million to get you."

Ximen indeed said:
“They want my life, and I certainly can’t just ignore it.”

"Chen, please tell Inspector Chen, Boss Huang, and James that you can continue your investigation. I, Simon, will not let you fight alone."

Chen Guozhong chuckled:

"A word is settled!"

Simon said sincerely:
"Thank you, Chen."

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"If anyone else did this to me, I wouldn't let you off the hook."

"I understand you!"

Ximen nodded emphatically:

"Let's have coffee together sometime."

Chen Guozhong hung up the phone and said to the two of them:
"OK, problem solved!"

Chen Xinjian gave a thumbs up:

"Ah Zhong, you're really sharp-minded. This way, the pressure from Shen Daban will fall on Ximen?"

Chen Guozhong sneered:

"The pressure from Shen Daban?"

"James, you might as well run around more now."

James pointed to his nose:
"I'll run?"

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"Yes."

"You found a clue here, aren't you going to report it to your superiors right away?"

"How did you become an official?"

James' eyes lit up:
"Yes, I'll go find the security bureau!"

Chen Guozhong reminded him:

"The eight-figure sum just ended up in the pockets of William and his two companions."

"Think about it..."

"That's something we already know."

"What if we don't know?"

"How much money does Boss Shen have?"

"I think the gentlemen of the Governor's Mansion will like this news."

James swallowed hard. "I like this news too."

If he were the only one who received this message normally, he would definitely make Shen Daban vomit blood.

But things are different now.

Everyone knows this news now.

No, we have to find a way to make Shen Daban vomit blood!

James rallied his spirits and went to the security bureau.

Chen Xinjian asked:
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Chen Guozhong disagreed:
"Foreigners are all greedy."

"If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too."

"If it weren't for the Governor taking the lead, do you think the people below would dare?"

"Even if they dared, would they do it in such large numbers?"

"I just gave them an outlet for their frustrations."

Chen Xinjian nodded slightly, agreeing with Chen Guozhong's opinion:

"fair enough."

"At least for us, there will be far fewer constraints."

"Driven by self-interest, anyone who tries to plead with William and his two companions will be torn to pieces by the Eunuch and his men."

Chen Guozhong laughed heartily:
"That's it."

Chen Xinjian asked:
"What should we do next?"

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"It's already so late, we must strike while the iron is hot."

Chen Xinjian was puzzled for a moment:

"what?"

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"Interrogate William and the others." Chen Xinjian thought it made sense.

So Chen Guozhong, carrying the file folder, pushed open William's interrogation room.

“William, I thought you had offended Simon enough.”

"I didn't expect you to dare offend even Shen Daban."

William looked at Chen Guozhong with a puzzled expression:
"When did I offend Ms. Shen?"

Chen Guozhong sighed:
"Shen Daban has sued you!"

William thought he was joking:

"Chen, stop joking."

Chen Guozhong slammed the file on the table:
"See for yourself."

William's expression changed:
"You...you're not joking?"

He hurriedly picked up the file, but after reading only two pages, he felt dizzy and almost fainted!
Shen Daban really sued the three of them!
"Why?" William asked, utterly puzzled.

Why did Shen Daban do such a thing?

Aren't you afraid of self-destruction?!
"Why?" Chen Guozhong mocked, "Your act of crying 'stop thief' is so convincing."

"Just as I went to the ICAC to ask you to come back and cooperate with the investigation, hundreds of people were withdrawing money at various HSBC branches."

"You truly deserve to be an ICAC commissioner; you have an excellent understanding of HSBC's operating mechanisms."

“You know that HSBC basically reconciles accounts every half hour, so you took advantage of that time to gather a hundred fire criminals to withdraw money at the same time.”

“There was only 80 million in your three accounts, but through your manipulation, you managed to withdraw 450 million.”

"That means I went to arrest you at this time."

"If I hadn't appeared..."

"You're probably going to run away, aren't you?!"

"Wait, the three of you probably all ran away, right?!"

"Four hundred and fifty million!"

"The three of you couldn't spend all that money in three lifetimes!"

William shouted:
"Injustice!"

"Someone is framing me!"

Chen Guozhong mocked:

"I won't give up until I reach the Yellow River!"

He picked out a stack of checks and tossed them in front of William.
"These are the checks that those people collected this afternoon."

"I don't need to say which one is real."

"Just point out which one is fake!"

William angrily said:

"Don't I know how much I count the checks I signed myself?"

"Someone must have forged my signature."

Chen Guozhong waved his hand.

That means you can pick whatever you want.

William snorted coldly. Those people actually dared to forge his signature to withdraw money from the bank, and what's worse, the bank actually approved it.

That's hilarious!
HSBC's security measures were unsuccessful!
No wonder such a big case happened.

Four hundred and fifty million?!

What a big appetite!

He's too short to carry such a heavy pot.

William confidently began selecting the checks.

Who do you think you are? What do you mean by not needing to pick out the real ones, but only the fake ones? Do you think all these checks are real?
I'll file a complaint against you later!
William began selecting the checks.

This one is real, this one is real, and this one is still real...

After examining more than a dozen of them, they were all genuine.

William's forehead was sweating.

How can this be?

Those checks were all for five million, four million... the amounts were frighteningly large!
These dozen or so are almost worth fifty million!
The speed of identification is getting slower and slower.

This one is real... This one is real too... This one is still real!
After identifying the last one, William suddenly burst into tears:

"It's true, it's true, it's all true!"

Chen Guozhong nodded:

"So, you're admitting that all of this is true?"

William wept bitterly:

"They are all in my handwriting."

“I’ve checked it carefully, and there are some of my unique habits in it.”

"None of my signatures are the same."

"But none of these signatures are the same!"

"This...this is impossible..."

"I don't recall writing even a single check!"

When Wang Dao imitates, he doesn't simply copy the exact same thing; he extracts the essence and then imitates it.

Most importantly, after he finished writing it, he also used handwriting analysis techniques to re-examine it.

Even William himself cannot deny that he wrote it.

It's really hard to hold back!

Chen Guozhong mocked:

"So, you're admitting that you wrote these yourself?"

William shouted:
"But I didn't write this. I don't remember writing it."

Chen Guozhong sighed:
“William, you were once an ICAC commissioner, so you naturally know our principles.”

"Evidence is essential in handling cases."

"Evidence is also the basis of the proceedings in court."

"Don't you think about it? If the check is fake, would HSBC pay it?"

William cried even louder:

"But I really didn't do this."

He understands.

If it's just embezzlement, then there's no problem.

At worst, he'll only serve a few days in jail. With his white skin, the court won't give him a harsh sentence.

Just like Peter Godber, such a huge corruption case, he could have been executed ten times over, but he was only sentenced to four years and only served two years before being released.
With such a ready example, he can learn from Godber.

As long as you perform well, you'll only have to stay for two or three years at most before you can leave.

But planning to rob a bank is a much bigger joke.

Most importantly, this offended Boss Shen.

With Shen Daban around, Ximen's influence can be completely offset, and the verdict against him by Paomiantou will not change.

However, Shen Daban was also offended. With the combined efforts of the two foreign firm managers, he might not even be able to get out of prison!

How could William not break down in tears?!

Boom!

Chen Guozhong slammed his fist on the table:

What's the use of crying?

"You'd better expose your accomplices."

"It must have been hard for you to find so many Chinese people."

"Tell me, where did they all go?"

William shouted:
"I really didn't do this."

Chen Guozhong said with a smile:

"Why don't you go and talk to the judge?"

"Let's talk about the 40 million in your account first."

"Then let's talk about the fact that the three of you withdrew 450 million."

"You really dare..."

William suddenly said:
"Four hundred and fifty million?"

"Does HSBC have 450 million?"

"I saw it clearly just now, the total amount here is less than three hundred million, right?"

Chen Guozhong clapped his hands and said:

"Not bad, you did serve as an ICAC commissioner for a term, so you still have the professionalism you should have."

"Let me tell you, I checked it before."

"The total value of the checks here is only 250 million."

"However, Shen Daban told me that HSBC lost 450 million."

"In other words, you owe the bank 370 million."

William's mouth dropped open; he even forgot to cry!

That's from being scared!

You can't owe money to a bank, let alone HSBC.

Chen Guozhong said in a low voice:

“Your accounts are with HSBC, and Shen Daban can transfer money to you whenever she says so.”

"Did you take any money from it?"

William casually remarked:

“I took it. I transferred five million to my brother.”

Chen Guozhong scoffed:
"What kind of withdrawal is that? That's payment for your brother doing something for you."

"Besides, isn't that just an internal transfer within HSBC?"

William was suddenly startled:
"You...what do you mean?"

Chen Guozhong said calmly:

"Have you ever considered that the money is kept in an HSBC account...?"

"As long as you don't take it out, it's just numbers."

“If Shen Daban wants to, he can create as many of these accounts as he wants.”

"But if you dare to withdraw money, these accounts will really become fake."

William exclaimed:
"What did you say?"

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"I didn't say anything. Think about it yourself."

"However, there is one thing I am basically certain of."

"The three of you are now the ones who are shirking responsibility and settling scores for Shen Daban."

William asked, puzzled:
"The Great Sage Who Balances Accounts?"

Chen Guozhong shrugged:

"There's a classic novel in my hometown called 'Journey to the West,' which features a character named Sun Wukong, who once wreaked havoc in Heaven..."

Chen Guozhong leisurely recounted the story of the havoc in Heaven.
"Why don't all those gods and Buddhas in the sky hold Sun Wukong accountable?"

"They specifically hired him to balance their accounts, so naturally they wouldn't want anything to happen to him."

"You are the Great Sage Who Balances Accounts!"

(End of this chapter)