The former chief executive of embattled Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings) has claimed that assets were stripped from the firm and non-company executives routinely interfered in its affairs long before its chairman Yang Bin was charged by mainland authorities with economic crimes.
In a September 12 resignation letter obtained by the South China Morning Post, Chen Jun, who left the firm last month, said his management efforts were stymied by a deep entanglement between Mr Yang's public and private interests.
Euro-Asia is subject to a cross-border regulatory probe for inflating reported revenue over the past four years by as much as 20 times and faces creditors demands for immediate loan repayment.
Mr Chen, an outsider, was appointed Euro-Asia chief executive in April, after concerns arose in early January about its financial dealings, governance and a murky relationship with Mr Yang's private business in Shenyang. Until recently, investors had remained hopeful that Mr Chen's appointment would help stem the company's share price slide from a peak of HK$2.8 in May to 38 HK cents before its September 30 suspension.
'Over more than five months, I've found that I am only the chief executive in name, not in substance,' he wrote. 'As the chief executive, I am unable to serve the interests of all shareholders.'
Lacking control over financial and personnel matters he told the Post in an interview from Kunming, Yunnan province, the firm had been subject to 'excessive interference from non-Euro-Asia officials in the company's affairs'.