In Los Angeles, questions about development-related corruption; Greenland pushes back on misleading report

As noted last December, the Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar "personally asked companies that do business at City Hall to donate to a private school where his wife was working as a professional fundraiser," and Greenland USA was among the most generous donors.

In a 1/14/19 article headlined FBI corruption probe of L.A. City Hall focuses on downtown development boom, the Los Angeles Times reported:

Federal investigators have cast a wide net for information about foreign investment in Los Angeles real estate development, according to a search warrant that names an array of political and business figures.

...Those developers also have been told to provide information on any contributions they have made to Huizar’s reelection bid, his officeholder committee, any legal defense fund or his alma mater, Bishop Mora Salesian High School, the sources said. The subpoenas seek information on any donations made to two political committees with ties to Huizar — Community Support PAC and Families for a Better Los Angeles.

Greenland was not the focus, but it was part of the wide net:

Investigators also asked in the warrant for any records from the Gmail account related to projects with foreign investors, including Hazens, Oceanwide and Greenland.

New measures

The Real Deal Los Angeles, in a 5/14/19 article headlined LA is reining in the real estate industry. Is it going too far?, reported:

The FBI is investigating a series of contributions developers made to Huizar, his wife’s now abandoned bid for his City Council seat, and to affiliated causes. The investigation has widened over the last several months, leading to the resignation of some city officials whose names appeared in a leaked FBI search warrant.

Real estate firms that appear to be of interest in the investigation include Greenland USA, Related Companies, and Skanska.

In response, a group of Councilmembers led by David Ryu resurrected a proposal to ban developers or anyone else seeking approval for a building project from making political donations to city officials and their personal charities.

Another FBI raid, and some Greenland pushback

A 7/22/19 Los Angeles Times (via San Diego Union-Tribune) article headlined FBI raids at DWP, L.A. City Hall related to fallout from billing debacle, reported:

FBI agents fanned across the Los Angeles area on Monday, serving search warrants at multiple government offices, including the Department of Water and Power, as part of an investigation into how the city responded to the disastrous rollout of a new customer billing system.
...The FBI raid was the second to occur at City Hall in less than a year. In November, agents hauled out boxes and bags of materials from two of Councilman Jose Huizar’s offices as well as his Boyle Heights home.

Some Chinese media coverage linked the two, apparently, and that provoked an indignant response from Greenland USA, which issued a 7/26/19 statement:

Recently, some Chinese media reports that “FBI Raid Los Angeles City Hall and LA Department of Water and Power (DWP), Greenland and Oceanwide are both involved of bribing”. The report alleges that “Greenland is being suspected of bribing the Los Angeles City government officials”. Such allegation is false which is entirely inconsistent with the facts of this investigation. It causes severe damages to the reputation of Greenland USA and our projects and huge financial loss. Therefore, we make the following statement:
1. The “FBI raids at DWP, L.A. City Hall” reported on LA Times on July 22 and 23 were not related to Greenland USA and its projects.
2. As for the FBI’s investigation of certain government officials at the City of Los Angles including Jose Huizar, councilmember of the 14th District of the City of Los Angeles, Greenland USA is not a target of that investigation. No one is alleging that Greenland USA or any of our employees has done anything illegal or improper.
We will take all appropriate legal action against the organizations and individuals who release and disseminate such false and misrepresenting reports or mislead the public about our company or our projects. We will also reserve our rights to pursue legal remedies and take further legal actions to protect our rights and interests.

Greenland USA
July 25, 2019

Greenland is on solid ground regarding the first issue--the FBI raids were not related to Greenland.

The second issue seems a bit more murky. Indeed, the company may not be a target of that investigation, though I haven't seen that confirmed in a news article. Nor has any illegality by Greenland been alleged.

Were charitable contributions by Greenland improper? That hasn't been alleged either. But extant reporting suggests that they are at least questionable, and raise questions about Huizar and his relationship with developers.

Happier days

According to this video from the 4/28/15 opening of Greenland USA gallery in Los Angeles, Greenland USA CEO Ifei Chang (since departed) welcomes dignitaries and thanks real-estate firm CBRE for connecting it with the Metropolis project and also Atlantic Yards.

Declares Council Member Huizar, "I want you to show the rest of China that Downtown L.A. is open for business."


Greenland USA from SimonVisionMedia on Vimeo.