Overseas deal fixer may shed light on fall from grace of Chinese oil boss
Probe into Hong Kong born dual national who helped energy giants with foreign business is linked to investigation of former Sinopec boss
Mainland authorities have taken away a businessman behind a network that helped orchestrate a clutch of big overseas deals for Chinese oil giants, a move likely to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding the fall from grace of Fujian governor Su Shulin.
According to Caixin, Sam Pa, a businessman who is the principal representative of Queensway Group registered at 88 Queensway in Hong Kong, was detained by mainland police on October 8 in the capital, one day after Beijing announced a probe into Su for disciplinary violations during his tenure as the head of Sinopec, the mainland's largest oil refiner.
READ MORE: Former rising political star Su Shulin investigated over alleged corruption while at Chinese oil giant Sinopec
Citing unidentified sources, Caixin reported yesterday the action against Pa was linked to the investigations into Su, once a rising political star who took the helm of Sinopec between 2007 and 2011.
It was the latest sign that Beijing has tightened the reins on overseas assets owned and operated by state enterprise juggernauts since the country embarked on an internationalisation drive about a decade ago.
Pa, 57, was born in Hong Kong and holds dual nationality - British and Angolan.
He helped Sinopec secure a batch of oil fields in Angola when Su was the general manager of Sinopec, the report said.