“加州房姐”謀殺案突顯中國財富流向美國房地產(chǎn)

A record bail posted in a California court for one of the accused in a murder case has thrown the spotlight on a property fortune that traces its roots to the Chinese military, in a graphic illustration of how money made in China has flooded overseas real estate markets.

一宗謀殺案的被告之一向加州法庭繳納的一筆創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的保釋金，讓一筆可以追溯至中國軍方的房產(chǎn)成為公眾焦點(diǎn)，從而清楚而具體地說明了中國財富如何席卷了海外房地產(chǎn)市場。

Tiffany Li is a Chinese-American heiress accused of ordering a hit on her ex-boyfriend in San Mateo county, a leafy suburb of San Francisco where Teslas are more common than violent crime. In April she posted $4m in cash and $62m in California property as bail — among the highest ever posted in the US.

Tiffany Li(題圖右)是一名美國華裔，是大筆財富的繼承人，她被指控在圣馬特奧市下令襲擊她的前男友。圣馬特奧市位于舊金山郊區(qū)，綠樹成蔭，此處的暴力犯罪遠(yuǎn)不如特斯拉(Tesla)常見。今年4月，她繳納了400萬美元現(xiàn)金，6200萬美元房地產(chǎn)的保釋金，這是美國迄今數(shù)額最高的保釋金之一。

The eye-catching amount has drawn unwanted attention to her family’s business, a complex web of real estate interests whose origins can be traced to construction partnerships with the Chinese armed forces. It shows how guanxi, or connections, in China can translate into wealth in America.

這一引人注目的金額為Tiffany Li的家族生意招致了意外關(guān)注。那是一張復(fù)雜的房地產(chǎn)利益網(wǎng)絡(luò)，其起源可追溯至與中國軍方的建設(shè)合作伙伴關(guān)系，顯示了中國的“關(guān)系”是如何轉(zhuǎn)化成美國的財富。

California property markets have boomed as China’s newly wealthy seek havens overseas. Chinese homebuyers spent more than $28bn on US residential real estate in 2015, the most among foreign buyers, according to the Asia Society.

隨著中國新富尋求海外避險，加州房地產(chǎn)市場獲得了蓬勃發(fā)展。據(jù)亞洲協(xié)會(Asia Society)數(shù)據(jù)，2015年中國購房者在美國住宅房地產(chǎn)上支出280億美元，為外國買家之首。

Ms Li’s mother, Li Jihong, made her initial fortune in Beijing in the 1980s by entering joint ventures with construction companies directly owned by the powerful General Logistics department of the People’s Liberation Army, according to corporate records and court cases. By the 1990s, the elder Ms Li’s property development company had snapped up desirable plots in the high-rent business district around the China World Hotel.

根據(jù)公司記錄和法庭文件，上世紀(jì)八十年代，通過與中國人民解放軍總后勤部下屬建筑公司成立多家合資企業(yè)，Tiffany Li的母親李繼紅在北京賺取了她的第一桶金。到上世紀(jì)九十年代，李繼紅的房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)公司在中國大飯店(China World Hotel)周邊租金高昂的商業(yè)區(qū)搶先拿下了許多有利地塊。

She owned a residence in California as early as the late 1980s, unusual for a mainland citizen of China in the early days of the country’s market reforms.

早在上世紀(jì)八十年代末，李繼紅就在美國加州擁有了一套住所，這對處于市場改革初期的中國內(nèi)地公民來說并不尋常。

The younger Ms Li, now 31, studied at the University of San Francisco. Like many fu’erdai, or offspring of the nouveaux riches, she embraced an ostentatious lifestyle. “There was a lot of bling,” said a person close to her. “They utilised the wealth more than [the mother] did.”

今年31歲的Tiffany Li曾就讀舊金山大學(xué)(University of San Francisco)。像許多富二代一樣，她也過著炫富的生活。一位認(rèn)識她的人表示：“其生活充斥著奢侈品。他們對財富的利用遠(yuǎn)大于其母親。”

Along the way she met Keith Green, an aspiring chef, but they later separated. Mr Green had been fighting for shared custody of their two toddlers in April 2016 when his body was found dumped in the woods with a bullet through his head.

期間Tiffany Li遇到了一位有抱負(fù)的廚師凱斯•格林(Keith Green，題圖左)，但后來他們分開了。2016年4月，格林的尸體被發(fā)現(xiàn)拋棄在樹林中，他的頭部被一發(fā)子彈貫穿，當(dāng)時他一直在爭取他們的兩名幼兒的共同監(jiān)護(hù)權(quán)。

Ms Li is accused of conspiring to kill him. Kaveh Bayat, who was dating Ms Li, is charged with murder, and Olivier Adella, one of his friends, is charged with helping. Ms Li is pleading not guilty.

Tiffany Li被指控共謀殺害格林。她當(dāng)時的約會對象卡韋赫•巴亞特( Kaveh Bayat)被控謀殺，他的一個朋友奧利弗•阿代拉(Olivier Adella)被控協(xié)助犯案。Tiffany Li提出了無罪申請。

Both Ms Li and her mother declined requests for interviews submitted by the Financial Times through their lawyers and other family representatives.

Tiffany Li和母親都拒絕了英國《金融時報》通過其律師及其他家族代理人提出的采訪請求。

The case has thrown a spotlight on the Li family business. The elder Ms Li and her business partners buy and develop real estate in the Bay Area, using a network of companies run by the same directors. In at least two cases, these associates established a company, bought a property, then sold it to another entity they controlled (or ended up controlling), repeating this process several times.

此案使李家的家族生意成為人們關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn)。李繼紅及其生意伙伴利用由同一批負(fù)責(zé)人經(jīng)營的一系列公司在灣區(qū)購買、開發(fā)房地產(chǎn)。在至少兩起案例中，這伙人成立了一家公司，購買了一處房產(chǎn)，然后將其出售給他們控制(或最終由他們控制)的另一家實(shí)體，并多次重復(fù)這一過程。

One such property at 576-600 El Camino Real in Belmont was purchased in 2014 by a limited liability company that listed Tiffany and her brother as members — that is, the publicly listed owners. It was sold on, twice, to two other companies with the same registration address. After these two transactions, the LLC that ultimately owned the property shared most of its members with the first LLC.

其中一處位于貝爾蒙特El Camino Real 576-600號的房產(chǎn)由一家有限責(zé)任公司在2014年購入，Tiffany Li及其弟弟為該公司成員，即公開的所有者。該房產(chǎn)又被(分兩次)出售給另外兩家擁有相同注冊地址的公司。經(jīng)過這兩次交易，最終擁有該房產(chǎn)的有限責(zé)任公司與第一家有限責(zé)任公司的成員基本上同為一批人。

While the names of the members are publicly available, those of the other investors in the LLCs are not. Transfers of a single property among LLCs allows outside investors to buy in and cash out without any requirement to disclose their identities, says Paul Gillis, an accounting expert at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “It’s a typical Chinese investment pattern. This is how groups of Chinese often invest in US real estate.”

雖然公司成員名字公開，但這些有限責(zé)任公司的其他投資者的名字并不公開。在有限責(zé)任公司之間轉(zhuǎn)讓一處房產(chǎn)可以讓外部投資者買入并套現(xiàn)，但不必披露他們的身份，北京大學(xué)光華管理學(xué)院會計專家保羅•吉利斯(Paul Gillis)說。“這是典型的中國式投資。這是中國企業(yè)通常投資美國房地產(chǎn)的方式。”

The Li family worked closely with CHS Development Group, now constructing the El Camino Real site. Asked why the property was transferred multiple times among LLCs, vice-president Mark Haesloop denied the deals were “right hand to left hand . . . They are all separate entities. The purpose for any sale is economic.” He declined to give further details.

李家與CHS Development Group合作密切，后者目前正在建設(shè)位于El Camino Real的項(xiàng)目。當(dāng)被問及為什么該房產(chǎn)多次在有限責(zé)任公司之間轉(zhuǎn)讓時，該公司副總裁馬克•黑斯盧普(Mark Haesloop)否認(rèn)了這些交易為“內(nèi)部換手……它們都是獨(dú)立實(shí)體。每次出售都是為了經(jīng)濟(jì)目的。”他拒絕進(jìn)一步提供細(xì)節(jié)。

Ms Li’s business facilitated real estate investment by Asian buyers, Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County district attorney, said. “We know that the business she was ostensibly in was finding real estate for people from China and eastern [Asia].”

圣馬特奧縣檢察官史蒂夫•瓦格斯塔夫(Steve Wagstaffe)說，李家的生意便利了亞洲買家對房地產(chǎn)的投資。“我們知道，她的生意主要是為來自中國和東亞的人士尋找房產(chǎn)。”

Mr Haesloop disputed this. “She is not a broker for Chinese money coming into the United States,” he said. The identity of the investors in her projects and in CHS projects was “none of your business”, he said.

黑斯盧普并不贊同這一說法。“她不是中國資金進(jìn)入美國的掮客，”他說。她的項(xiàng)目以及CHS項(xiàng)目中的投資者的身份“與你無關(guān)”。

Mr Haesloop added he believed “most of them” were US citizens but acknowledged that, “frankly, some of these people I’ve never met, never laid eyes on”.

黑斯盧普補(bǔ)充說，他認(rèn)為“他們大都”是美國公民，但承認(rèn)，“坦率地說，其中一些人我從來沒見過”。

Prosecution worries that Ms Li might flee the country led to the record-setting bail amount. She is next due to appear in court in July.

檢方設(shè)定創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的高額保釋金，是由于擔(dān)心Tiffany Li可能會逃離美國。她下次應(yīng)于7月出庭。