Three of Wealth One Bank of Canada’s original investors reportedly received orders from Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s finance minister, to sell their holdings in the lender. Shenglin Xian, Morris Chen, and Yuansheng Ou Yang, the investors, allegedly received a request to sell their shares because of suspicions around their supposed ties to the Chinese government. The action is being taken as Canadian national security officials are investigating the investors.
Freeland instructed Wealth One to cut all ties with the three investors, according to documents obtained from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada’s financial industry regulator. According to reports, the finance minister also ordered the adoption of security measures to prevent information sharing outside of the bank and money laundering.
In contrast, Glen Jennings, a lawyer for Xian, said that his client is in constant contact with the authorities and anticipates a favorable resolution for all parties. Attempts to reach Ou Yang and Chen for comment were fruitless. Xian has nothing further to add at this time, according to Jennings, who also emphasized that things pertaining to the bank are subject to regulations of secrecy.
Freeland has the power to address issues faced by any Canadian bank as the country’s finance minister. Freeland’s senior communications advisor, Jessica Eritou, underlined this position but would not go into detail about specific steps taken against Wealth One and its owners.
The bank must do national security screenings on all of its workers, move its Toronto headquarters to a location with more security, and search its property for surveillance equipment, among other requirements. Furthermore, the organization is forbidden from conducting banking operations on the Chinese social media messaging platform WeChat.
Wealth One has also been told to hire two compliance officers and establish an impartial third-party monitor. The security compliance will be overseen by one compliance officer, who is required to have a current national security clearance, and the anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist compliance will be their primary areas of concentration.
Outside of regular business hours, attempts to contact Wealth One Bank, as well as Xian, Chen, and Ou Yang for comments were unsuccessful.
In conclusion, three of Wealth One Bank of Canada’s original investors apparently received instructions from Canada’s finance minister to sell their shares in the firm. The decision was made as a result of suspicions regarding purported ties to the Chinese government and the investors’ close watch by Canadian national security agencies. Wealth One has also been subjected to sanctions, such as tightened security protocols and limitations on the usage of specific apps.
