Chapter 291: The Simple Ponzi Scheme

The conference room suddenly fell into an eerie silence, with everyone's gaze focused on Zhou Ming and Xing Yuan.

In truth, both Zhou Ming's attitude and Xing Yuan's demands were expected. With such a large sum of money for the highway project, no one would be indifferent, nor would anyone let go of it. Even if the money couldn't be embezzled, what couldn't be done with over ten billion in funds? However, despite the anticipated attitudes, the situation had developed into something none of them had foreseen.

Baiyun City Party Secretary Huang Nan glanced at Chen Yunfei, only to find him sitting there like a Zen master, with no expression on his face, as if he hadn't heard Zhou Ming and Xing Yuan's exchange.

While others might not have noticed, Huang Nan understood that the current situation was entirely Chen Yunfei's tolerance.

After all, Chen Yunfei was the Executive Vice Governor of Lingnan and the host of the meeting. If he truly did not want to see Xing Yuan flaunt himself here, he had every reason to stop him from speaking, and no one would have objected. But Chen Yunfei's approach was to let Xing Yuan run amok during the meeting, even though his comments had exceeded the scope of the meeting and made it quite embarrassing. Chen Yunfei acted as if he hadn't heard anything.

On the other side, Xing Yuan laughed loudly. He said to Zhou Ming, "Advisor Zhou, I've come to realize that you really are like a stone in a cesspool—stinky and hard! You say you won't let go, that you won't hand over this highway fund to me, do you really think you can do it? Think carefully—how are you going to keep this money? I can offer a 40% return; can you?"

Zhou Ming shook his head lightly, "I still stand by my previous statement. Under proper economic conditions and legal business strategies, you can't provide such a return."

Xing Yuan spread his hands and addressed everyone, "See this? My evaluation of Advisor Zhou is perfectly correct. Even now, he's still talking about this issue. He's either acting like a fool or thinks that if he blocks his ears, we'll all think like him. Isn't that just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand?"

"Advisor Zhou, I know you've built up the stock market in Nanjing and solved the biggest stock crisis, but that doesn't mean you're the top financial expert in the country. Times change, and there are many financial techniques you've never heard of. With your current rejection, I see you'll be eliminated by the times sooner or later!" Xing Yuan said.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Xing, but I would advise you to worry about yourself instead," Zhou Ming said pointedly. "With your kind of operation, one day you will be eliminated."

Xing Yuan shuddered at Zhou Ming's words, feeling as if a gun was pointed at him. But soon, he regained his composure and angrily said to Zhou Ming, "Advisor Zhou, are you trying to scare me? If you have the guts, call the police and arrest me! I'm not afraid!"

Zhou Ming smiled slightly, "As you wish."

As Zhou Ming spoke, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open, and a group of armed police officers stormed in, swiftly taking control of the situation.

Everyone in the conference room, including Xing Yuan, was stunned. They didn't understand what was happening, but the black muzzles of the guns and the imposing demeanor of the soldiers made it clear they should not move.

A senior police officer entered, saluted Chen Yunfei and Huang Nan, and then presented an arrest warrant to Xing Yuan. He said, "I am the Deputy Director of the Economic Crime Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. Xing Yuan, your economic crimes in Jiangnan Province have been confirmed. Please come with us for investigation."

Seeing his arrest warrant, Xing Yuan was initially stunned, but then turned to Zhou Ming with a fierce expression and said, "Zhou Ming, this is all your doing, right? I'll deal with you!"

Xing Yuan attempted to grab a chair to smash Zhou Ming, but the armed police were prepared. Before he could act, two officers quickly restrained him and slammed him onto the table, making a loud crash.

The crash made Zhou Ming wince, worried that Xing Yuan might have been hurt. But Xing Yuan, seemingly unaffected, continued to angrily say, "I'm not done with you, Zhou Ming, you bastard. You may think you can control the Ministry of Public Security, but to me, you're just a pile of shit! When I get out, I'll make sure to get you!"

"Get out? I don't think you'll have that chance," Zhou Ming said.

"I'm a legitimate businessman from Jiangnan Province with ten billion in funds. The country can't ignore this, and I believe you, Zhou Ming, can hide the truth for a while, but you can't deceive the whole nation!" Xing Yuan said.

"It seems you still don't understand the gravity of your crimes," Zhou Ming said with regret.

"Fuck you and your crimes! It's you, Zhou Ming, who's slandering me! I—"

Xing Yuan continued to curse Zhou Ming, but his tirade was abruptly cut off when Zhou Ming shoved a notebook into his mouth.

"Governor Chen, may I expose Xing Yuan's economic scam here?" Zhou Ming asked Chen Yunfei.

Chen Yunfei nodded, "Yes, revealing the scam will also serve as a warning to everyone."

Zhou Ming thanked Chen Yunfei and then turned back to the group, "I know many of you might feel indignant for Xing Yuan right now, thinking that I'm using my connections to retaliate against him. But I can assure you, I'm not. I've only reported his criminal activities to the central authorities. Now, I will explain what kind of investment scam Xing Yuan was running."

"Actually, Xing Yuan's scam is not sophisticated; it's just a typical Ponzi scheme," Zhou Ming said. "In simple terms, a Ponzi scheme uses new investors' money to pay interest and short-term returns to earlier investors, creating a false appearance of profitability to attract more investment. This is also known domestically as 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' or 'empty-handed fraud.' The high returns he claims are just for show; in reality, these returns don't exist, including those he previously promised in Jiangnan Province."

Zhou Ming's words acted like a stone thrown into a pond, causing a ripple of chaos in the room. People began to murmur, "How could this be? Was all that money fake? Didn't he already pay out interest? These interests were taxed and documented; can they also be fake?"

In response to the crowd's confusion, Zhou Ming said, "I know it's hard to believe, so let me explain further."

"Do you know why the central authorities sent people to arrest Xing Yuan today? It's because the Ministry of Public Security's investigation team found that Xing Yuan had not conducted any business in Jiangnan Province or Binhai City. His so-called medical supply business hasn't even purchased a needle in the past year!"

Zhou Ming continued without waiting for others to question, "He hasn't done any business, but he did pay five billion in returns to his investors last year. You might find this contradictory, but it's not, because if I were in charge, I could return not just five billion, but six, seven, or eight billion."

Someone finally caught on, "Are you saying he used the investors' principal to pay the interest?"

"You could understand it that way," Zhou Ming said.

"What if someone wants to withdraw both principal and interest?" another person asked.

Zhou Ming didn't answer but instead asked, "If it were you, knowing that your money here could earn very high interest regularly, would you withdraw it or leave it to continue earning?"

No one answered because the answer was obvious—most would leave it, and some might even reinvest the interest to earn more.

"What I want to say is, whether you withdraw or reinvest doesn't matter. As long as he creates momentum and attracts new investment, he can repay the old investments along with interest, enhancing his reputation and attracting more investment, making his financial snowball grow larger," Zhou Ming said.

He paused to let the information sink in and then continued, "All of you are prominent figures in Lingnan's business community. I believe you understand the next point without further explanation. Using new investment to pay old investment can indeed cause wealth to grow exponentially in a short time, which is why he transformed from a street thug to a billionaire in just a few years."

"However, since he isn't actually conducting any business, meaning his money is only going out and not coming in, the day will come when no new investment arrives, and his scam will collapse," Zhou Ming said.

"Advisor Zhou, does this mean that Xing Yuan's attempt to target the highway fund in Lingnan is also a scam?" someone asked cautiously.

Although the question was careful, Zhou Ming replied sharply, "As businesspeople, don't you understand that high returns equal high risks? Think carefully—what project can truly handle over ten billion in funds and offer more than forty percent returns? If you know, please contact me immediately."