China blocks executive at US firm Kroll from leaving the mainland: sources

A SENIOR executive at US risk advisory firm Kroll has been barred from leaving the Chinese mainland, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday (Sep 29).

Hong Kong-based managing director Michael Chan is assisting an investigation into a case dating back a few years, the report stated, citing people familiar with the matter. It added that neither Kroll nor Chan were the target of the investigation.

Chan travelled to the mainland in July and subsequently informed his employer that he could not leave, it added.

The managing director, who is a Hong Kong passport holder, can move freely in mainland China and is still working, the report mentioned.

Kroll did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while China’s Ministry of Public Security and the National Immigration Administration were not immediately available for any comment on Friday, which marked the start of the week-long National Day holidays.

Earlier this week, authorities in China ordered a senior Nomura Holdings banker overseeing the firm’s investment banking operations there not to leave the mainland.

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Concerns are growing among Western businesses about darkening prospects in the world’s second-largest economy at a time of slowing growth, coupled with new laws that make for tougher operating conditions.

Earlier this year, foreign firms were rattled by Chinese authorities’ raids on US consultancy firms Bain & Company and Mintz Group. Last month, Beijing fined Mintz about US$1.5 million for doing “unapproved statistical work”. REUTERS