Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 92 The Cooperative's Financial Crisis

Xu Youwei frowned: "Next Monday, the main leaders of the Provincial Party Committee will come to Longxi District to attend the provincial on-site meeting on building a strong agricultural province."

If this matter isn't handled properly, it would be very bad if they went to the site to petition and cause trouble.

Zhou Wei chimed in, "Yes, it's practically impossible to recover depositors' losses in a short period. In the early stages, we can only focus on appeasement."

Even with legal means, it's difficult to recover all losses, and the process is lengthy.

Xu Youwei waved his hand and said, "Let's go see the petitioners first."

Hundreds of people, including men, women, and children, have gathered at the entrance of the municipal government compound, but the majority are middle-aged and elderly.

They were emotional, and shouts, cries, and curses could be heard from the crowd.

"Our hard-earned money! Gone just like that!"

"This is the money I was going to use to buy my coffin! That damned Peng Dafu swindled it all away!"

"The government must stand up for us!"

Officials and staff from the Municipal Letters and Visits Bureau are trying their best to appease the situation, but with limited success.

Xu Youwei's appearance immediately caused a stir.

Someone recognized him: "Secretary Xu! It's Secretary Xu!"

The crowd quickly gathered around, each person talking at once, recounting their experiences and demands.

Zhou Wei and Wu Zhiyuan immediately stepped forward and worked with the staff of the petition office to maintain order.

Xu Youwei stood on a slightly higher step and turned on the megaphone: "Fellow villagers, please be quiet. I am Xu Youwei, the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee."

I have a basic understanding of your situation!

Please rest assured, the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government attach great importance to the issues you have raised!

The scene gradually quieted down.

Xu Youwei continued, "I know that everyone has worked hard to save money—some for retirement, some for medical treatment, and some for their children's education. Now, they may have lost everything, and they are very anxious and angry. I completely understand that feeling!"

He then changed the subject, making his stance clear: "However, I want to make it clear to everyone that the Yinnong Cooperative's practice of accepting deposits from the public is a serious violation of laws and regulations!"

It is not a legally protected financial institution, and its high-interest deposit-taking activities are explicitly prohibited by the state!

At this moment, people below shouted, "Secretary Xu, we didn't know this was illegal!"

Their store was decorated like a bank; we all thought it was legitimate!

Xu Youwei raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and continued loudly: "This shows that there are blind spots in our financial supervision, which allows criminals to take advantage of the loopholes."

Here, on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government, I would like to make three guarantees to you:

First, the public security authorities will immediately establish a special task force to investigate the case of Yinnong Cooperative's suspected illegal absorption of public deposits, make every effort to apprehend the suspect Peng Dafu, thoroughly investigate the flow of funds, freeze and recover the assets involved in the case in accordance with the law, and minimize everyone's losses.

Second, a joint working group composed of the Municipal Financial Office, Public Security Bureau, and Market Supervision Bureau will immediately be stationed at the Yinnong Cooperative to conduct a comprehensive review of the accounts, register information on all affected individuals, and verify the amount of their deposits. Please cooperate with the registration process in an orderly manner.

Third, we will promptly release information to the public through official channels regarding the progress of the case investigation and the return of funds, and accept public supervision! The entire process will be conducted openly, transparently, and in accordance with the law.

Before Xu Youwei could finish speaking, a middle-aged man in the crowd shouted, "Secretary Xu! We don't want to hear these empty promises; we want concrete answers!"

When will Peng Dafu be caught? How much of our money can we recover?

You just admitted that the government's oversight was inadequate, so we ordinary people can't bear the entire responsibility!

"Yes! That's right!"

"The government also bears responsibility!"

"We can't just talk the talk without walking the walk!"

The crowd stirred again, with voices of doubt and dissatisfaction rising and falling.

Xu Youwei waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "That's a good question! You've hit the nail on the head! It also represents the question that everyone is most concerned about!"

I understand everyone's desire for a definite answer. If I were in that situation, I would ask the same question!

However, fellow villagers, please think about this calmly, and please believe the truth I, Xu Youwei, am telling:

First, regarding when Peng Dafu will be caught, I cannot give you a definite timeline right now.

The public security authorities will deploy police forces to pursue the fugitive with all their might, but the arrest operation will take time. If I were to guarantee now that the person would be caught in three or five days, that would be irresponsible and a deception of everyone!

Second, how much money can be recovered? That depends on how much of the assets involved in the case we can recover.

Peng Dafu used everyone's money for high-risk investments, personal extravagance, and may even have transferred and gone into hiding.

What we need to do now is to seize and freeze all accounts, real estate, vehicles and other assets related to him as soon as possible.

Third, regarding the issue of responsibility, as I just mentioned, there are blind spots in supervision, which is a fact, and we will never shirk our responsibility! Those who need to reflect will reflect, and those who need to be held accountable will be held accountable!

However, this does not mean that the government should bear full responsibility for compensation.

Using public funds to compensate for losses caused by such illegal financial activities would be without legal basis and unfair to the vast majority of law-abiding citizens.

The middle-aged man then asked loudly, "So we're just going to accept our losses as bad luck?"

Xu Youwei said firmly, "Of course not! What we need to do now is to act as quickly as possible."

Every minute of delay increases the risk of asset transfer and the less money may be recovered!

I understand why everyone is gathered here, but that won't solve the problem.

I, Xu Youwei, am standing here today to pledge my commitment to you!

I will personally oversee this matter to the end! I will regularly update everyone on the progress!

The middle-aged man said, "Secretary Xu, we're trusting you this time. We hope you won't let us down."

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Xu Youwei immediately convened a meeting with the Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Municipal Financial Office, the Municipal Letters and Visits Bureau, and other departments, demanding that the public security department immediately file a case, freeze assets, and make every effort to arrest Peng Dafu.

……

It was almost the weekend, and Xu Youwei said to Wu Zhiyuan in a consultative tone, "Zhiyuan, my wife is away on a business trip these days."

Yunxi takes art lessons with her teacher on weekends and also wants to go out for plein air painting. Can you pick her up and drop her off?

"Of course," Wu Zhiyuan said, scratching his head and grinning sheepishly. "I'm afraid that, like last time, some kind of scandal will break out again."

Wu Zhiyuan is putting the unpleasant truth upfront.

Last time at Qinglong Mountain, if Xu Yunxi hadn't been there, his intimate encounter with Liu Qingqing would have been impossible to clear his name.

Xu Youwei laughed heartily: "Zhiyuan, you've been bitten by a snake once, and now you're afraid of even a rope for ten years! I'm not senile yet, am I?"

After a pause, Xu Youwei remembered something else: "Secretary Lin Xue sent me a message asking if you could help her move."

She previously lived in the city's armed police detachment camp, but now she's moving to temporary housing provided by the municipal government.

Wu Zhiyuan readily agreed: "Sure."

Xu Youwei nodded: "Then you should take the initiative to contact Secretary Lin Xue and ask her when she will move."

Lin Xue has asked me for people repeatedly. Would you be interested in working for the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection?