Chinese couple investigated over £27bn fraud involving false loans

A couple masterminded a £27 billion fraud from which they personally made £1.2 billion by ripping off banks, the High Court has been told.
Jiangbao Hao and her husband Wenjun Tian, from Hampstead, north London, deny wrongdoing and claim they are victims of political persecution by China’s security service. British investigators found they own two homes in Hampstead worth £7 million and three blocks of student housing in Coventry, also worth about £7 million.
Jiangbao, 49, was granted a visa to live in the UK in 2018 after investing more than £10 million through Dolfin Financial (UK) Ltd. She said the money was given to her by Wenjun from the sale of shares in a company which the Chinese authorities now claim was involved in criminal activity. The High Court was told that Dolfin is being investigated over claims it operated a scheme to allow clients to unlawfully obtain investor visas in breach of immigration rules. The clients were all from China.
The Times has previously reported that Dolfin Financial was run by Roman Joukovski, a Russian-born financier who specialises in securing “golden visas” for the ultra wealthy.
A year after Jiangbao moved to London she was joined by Wenjun, also 49, who was classed as her dependent, and two of their children. The couple have been granted indefinite leave to remain.
Wenjun is alleged to be the head of a criminal group of more than 60 people, including his wife, who obtained 1,010 fraudulent loans totalling 267.47 billion yuan (£29 billion) taken out by 59 shell companies. The National Crime Agency has identified at least 39 British bank accounts linked to the couple. It obtained a court disclosure order giving it power to demand documents and question people. The couple challenged the order, saying it was obtained based on evidence provided by the Chinese authorities or state-run newspapers.
Mr Justice Murray dismissed the challenge. He said the size of the fraud was “not implausible”. It was in the public interest for civil proceedings to be brought if there had been fraud, and the couple would be protected by safeguards under British law.