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The rumored detention of a Chinese exec with Kushner ties could mean upheaval for China's banking system

Remember Anbang Insurance?

Wu Xiaohui, Chairman of Anbang

There's a rumor floating around Chinese social media that Wu Xiaohui, chairman of Anbang Insurance Group, has been detained by authorities in Beijing. Let's note, right away, that Anbang has denied this, and told The Real Deal that business is going on as usual.With that out of the way, though, it is also worth noting that in China, rumors like this shouldn't be dismissed so quickly. We've heard the "there's nothing to see here" kind of line from companies before, only to later learn that in fact there was something to see. Bank bosses and other executives sometimes go off the radar, and it's often kept quiet or outright denied even when they run publicly traded businesses.Once, a hedge fund manager was reportedly detained by the government for days as part of an insider trading investigation. When she emerged, she told the press she was hiking in the mountains and eating berries and it was all a big misunderstanding. Her husband had already told Reuters and Bloomberg News that she was meeting with "relevant industry authorities."Sometimes, like in that fund manager's case, the person reappears as if nothing happened. That could be because they're not the government's target anyway, but rather someone being interrogated along the way to a bigger fish. The government has its reasons, and the people can only speculate as to what they are.In Anbang's case, the speculation is proceeding along two lines. The first may be because of the company's investments abroad.Anbang is a massive financial firm that recently purchased the Waldorf Astoria, has done a string of real estate deals in Vancouver, and tried to buy Starwood Hotels for $14 billion. Wu, the chairman, also met with President Donald Trump's son in law and advisor, Jared Kushner, and almost bought a stake in the Kushner family's flagship real estate holding, 666 Fifth Avenue, which has been suffering losses under a crushing debt load. Anbang never struck the deal, though. Either way, this foreign asset gathering may have suddenly become a problem in China. Government watchdogs started looking into the insurance regulator earlier this month because the entire industry has been buying abroad, and Anbang's spree has been particularly flashy and large, so it makes sense that it would be of interest if Beijing wants to put an end to overseas land deals.

20% stake in China Minsheng Bank — China's biggest private lender.

And, this month, Caixin reported that Minsheng had sold over $400 million of fake wealth management products. So far, the head of a branch in Beijing is under investigation for this.

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