251: Chapter 251 The situation is worse than expected.

"Brother, how do you plan to handle this audacious imposter!"

As for how to handle it, Qin Chuan did not intend to interfere; he could just watch the show from the sidelines, and what he most wanted to see was the big show involving Zhang Qun.

A harsh look appeared on Chairman Chen Zhixun's face. "This guy actually dared to impersonate me to commit fraud. He deserves to be hacked into a thousand pieces; I want him dead."

Scamming billions of yuan indeed warranted death; even a death sentence would not be an issue.

After chatting a bit about the scammer, Qin Chuan invited him, "We've finished our tea. I'll take you for a walk. If possible, consider investing some money in our Wanshun County to set up some industries."

"Brother Chuan, that's no problem. For your sake, our Leyu Group must invest a sum."

He didn't specify the exact investment amount for the time being, but it certainly wouldn't be small.

"Good, then I'll take you around to have a look and, while we're at it, inspect our county's investment environment."

The two of them went out together.

...

The matter intensified and spread further and further. It wasn't just the official circles of Ningzhou; many ordinary citizens had heard about it as well.

Especially with inside information suggesting that most of the scammed money had already been transferred abroad.

Many of those involved in the fundraising were ordinary people. Sums of thirty to fifty thousand, or one to two hundred thousand, were all hard-earned money. Hearing that the money had been absconded with, they were all extremely anxious!

Not just ordinary citizens, but bosses of all sizes also became anxious. One boss reportedly invested over three hundred million.

Investing so much money was not only to make a profit but also to cling to their coattails and enter the Chen family camp.

Now they were in a miserable state, having actually been scammed by an imposter.

A storm began to brew. Someone created a large group and pulled in those who had participated in the fundraising, preparing to go to the Municipal Government to cause a scene and exert pressure, demanding that the government recover the scammed money.

As the top leader, Secretary Kang Kewu was under a lot of pressure. Although this matter didn't have much to do with him, the impact was too negative and the scope involved was too broad.

That damned Zhang Qun!

Secretary Kang Kewu paced back and forth in his office, his expression solemn and his teeth gritted, wishing that fellow Zhang Qun would just die.

Just now, the Provincial Joint Investigation Team had arrived. Including the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, they first took Zhang Qun away.

Many people saw Mayor Zhang being escorted onto the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's vehicle.

Despite this, Secretary Kang Kewu still felt it wasn't enough to vent his anger. You've been arrested, but you left this mess for me to clean up.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

A knock sounded at the office door, and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Liu Zheming knocked and entered, reporting, "Secretary, Liu Cheng's gang has five people in total, and all of them have been caught. Not a single one escaped."

"Liu Cheng" was the person impersonating Chairman Chen Zhixun; they were a gang of scammers totaling five people.

Hearing this, Secretary Kang Kewu felt a slight weight lift from his heart.

Fortunately, they were all caught. If anyone had escaped, it would be a troublesome matter.

Secretary Liu Zheming reported, "The situation has been basically cleared up. Liu Cheng is a repeat offender who had been caught several times before for fraud. After getting out recently, he inadvertently discovered that he looked very much like Chairman Chen Zhixun, so he conceived a wicked idea and began impersonating Chairman Chen to commit fraud..."

After listening to the report, Secretary Kang Kewu said with deep concern, "They scammed seven or eight billion, including a five-billion-yuan bank loan. Was some of the money transferred overseas?"

Secretary Liu Zheming's expression also became solemn. "We checked, and the total amount they've scammed has reached as much as 8.3 billion. If it were a few days later, this number would have increased further."

"They had already planned to flee the day after tomorrow; their plane tickets and passports were all ready. Fortunately, it was discovered in time. This time, thanks to Comrade Qin Chuan, if they had been allowed to flee, the consequences would have been even more severe."

If the money was scammed and the people had fled, how would they have settled the matter?

No one had suspected them at all, and this gang of scammers hadn't shown any flaws. If they had really quietly fled, there was a high probability they would have succeeded.

Once people have fled abroad, how could they be caught?

Secretary Kang Kewu also nodded in agreement. This time it was indeed Qin Chuan's credit. When reporting to the Provincial Party Committee, he had specifically explained this point to the provincial leaders and mentioned Qin Chuan's name several times.

Secretary Liu Zheming continued to report, "Although it was because Comrade Qin Chuan exposed them on the spot, Liu Cheng and his gang of scammers had been planning for a long time. Coupled with their plan to flee the day after tomorrow, most of the money has already been transferred overseas."

What!

The thing he feared most had happened; most of the money really had been transferred out.

Secretary Kang Kewu asked with some urgency, "Have you found out exactly how much money was transferred out?"

Secretary Liu Zheming sighed softly. Once the money was overseas, even as the Municipal Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, he couldn't transfer the money back.

"Secretary, you need to be somewhat mentally prepared," Secretary Liu Zheming sighed. "We've determined that there were two transfers in total. The first was five billion; after the bank loan was credited, it was transferred out the next day. The second was three billion, transferred out yesterday."

A full eight billion!

The sky was truly about to fall!!!

Secretary Kang Kewu sat weakly on the sofa. After a long time, he slowly said, "Old Liu, is there any possibility of recovering this money?"

Secretary Liu Zheming shook his head directly. "There isn't much hope. Unless Liu Cheng and the others voluntarily transfer the money back, there is no way at all besides that."

Would they voluntarily transfer back the money they had already scammed?

That possibility was very small.

Secretary Kang Kewu's pressure suddenly increased. "Old Liu, is there anyone behind the scenes of this gang?"

If there was no mastermind, there was still a sliver of hope. If there was a mastermind, then there was absolutely no hope. With so much money, the mastermind would certainly sacrifice Liu Cheng and those few people; it would be impossible to transfer the money back. It's eight billion!

"We are currently investigating. According to our preliminary interrogation of Liu Cheng's gang, there shouldn't be one, but we will further verify and investigate everything thoroughly."

"I hope not. If there is a mastermind, there's no hope of recovering this money."

While the two were talking about this, a knock sounded at the door again. The first secretary of the Municipal Party Committee pushed open the door and entered to report.

"Boss, many people have come outside. They are holding banners and demanding that the government recover their hard-earned money."

Secretary Kang Kewu was exasperated into laughter.

Damn it, you were the ones who were scammed voluntarily in the first place. Some people even strained every nerve and insisted on stuffing their money into the hands of Liu Cheng and his gang. Now that you know you've been scammed, you come to pressure the government.

Anger aside, he couldn't say that to these people; otherwise, it would be adding fuel to the fire. He could only go and appease them.

Secretary Kang Kewu said helplessly, "It looks like I'll have to make an appearance. Old Liu, let's go see what the situation is."

Outside the compound of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, at least two or three hundred people had gathered, holding banners and shouting slogans. A large number of people around them were looking on, with many taking photos with their phones.

Using every ounce of his strength, bluffing and making promises, it took a full hour or two before Secretary Kang Kewu temporarily appeased the crowd and got them to disperse.

Back in his office, he sat worriedly in his office chair, his brow furrowed. Eight billion had been transferred overseas; how could it possibly be recovered?