(Originally published on January 27, 2012, to CBK email newsletter list.)

Unless you are suffering a hangover from Chinese New Year’s celebrations or otherwise living under a rock, you have probably already read that on Wednesday, January 25, the FBI raided the New York office The New York Global Group, run by the somewhat infamous Benjamin Wey.

There was no official announcement by the FBI about the raid, but Supervisory Special Agent, Tim Flannelly, confirmed for CBK that it did happen. When asked for the legal name of Benjamin Wey (i.e. what is on his passport), he said he could not provide that because it could “compromise the ongoing investigation.” He did confirm the spelling of “Wey”, which has sometimes been reported as “Wei” in the press. News reports have mentioned Wey’s residence was also raided, but Flannelly did not confirm that. In addition, Flannelly would not comment on Wey’s work status or if he is a citizen of the PRC or U.S.

Most who read this newsletter will make the connection that The New York Global Group is the firm which brought CleanTech Innovations Inc. (OTC QB: CTEK) to the market. As reported by CBK last week CleanTech filed a lawsuit against Nasdaq alleging that the exchange used racial profiling when making the decision to delist it last year. [CBK had been making calls to follow-up on that story prior to the news of the NYGG raid. Stay tuned.]

Most CBK readers will also not be surprised that Benjamin Wey would find himself in hot water as he and his firm has been mired down in bad press for several years and often cited as an example of a firm bringing bad apples to the market when critics question the legitimacy of RTO China stocks. CBK has stayed away from that debate as we have no first-hand experience with Wey or NYGG, nor the resources to do a respectable job investigating the allegations.

In this era, it is not enough to just mention a firm has had a few companies delisted. That is very common now and if all the i-banks, accounting firms, law firms and IR firms were given a “Scarlett Letter” for each of their clients to be delisted, it would be a very long and comprehensive list with more firms active in the sector on it than not.

As CBK has written in the past, we are looking forward to a day when the “lemons” of the sector are flushed out so those companies in good standing can get back to work trying to build their companies and provide investor value. It’s a sad day that it might be at the cost of U.S. the tax-payers’ dollar paying for the FBI’s time, instead of the sector setting its own high standards and the companies policing themselves through a legitimate sector association. But then again, the FBI’s intervention (no matter what happens in with NYGG) might be just the muscle needed to send a message to the bucket full of Chinese companies still considering trying to cheat the U.S. markets to pack up and go home.

Ultimately, to think of the U.S. capital markets without Chinese companies at this juncture of the global economy seems not only ludicrous, but a really, really bad idea. Similarly, to think that somehow there is more malfeasance with Chinese companies than with other foreign entities, such as companies based in Russia or Brazil seems equally naive.

CBK will continue to follow the story.

—Janet Stites, Publisher & Editor

How The FBI Raid of NYGG Made the News

(Originally published on January 27, 2012, to CBK email newsletter list.)

The story about the press’s reporting of the FBI raid of NYGG’s offices is as fascinating and alarming as the story itself.

It seems the news of the raid was first reported on . . . → Read More: Press Breeds Press–Not Always a Good Thing

(Originally published Jan. 19, 2012, in CBK’s weekly email “Week in Review.”)

Dear Friends:

It’s time again to put the year behind us, this one based on the Chinese calendar. And if it’s not going to be a bull market, a dragon market sounds good to me. This week marked another round of . . . → Read More: Publisher’s Notes

Address: 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018 Tel: U.S. (212) 792 -4800

Website: English: www.hrrllp.com Mandarin: http://www.hrcpa.com/china/index.php

Contact: aschneider @ hrrllp.com

Embracing China While other accounting firms are re-thinking or fleeing the sector of China-based, U.S. listed companies, New York-based Holtz Rubenstein Reminick LLP (HRR) is “long” on China, renewing its commitment . . . → Read More: Professional Services Firm Profile: Holtz Rubenstein Reminick LLP

(Originally published Jan. 3, 2012, in CBK’s weekly email newsletter, “Week in Review.”)

OF NOTE…

Youku.com & Ku6 Media Ink Pivotal Distribution Deals, with 20th Century Fox and YouTube, Respectively

Everyday in the news commentators are debating what is going to work in China and what is not going to work in . . . → Read More: Newsbriefs, Jan. 19, 2012

(Of note, CleanTech Innovations Inc. is not to be confused with CleanTech Solutions International Inc. (Nasdaq: CLNT), formerly known as China Wind Systems. For more on CleanTech Innovations, visit: http://www.ctiproduct.com.)

Yesterday news of Liaoning Province-based CleanTech Innovations Inc. (OTC QB: CTEK) filing a lawsuit against Nasdaq for racism and discrimination caught our attention and . . . → Read More: CleanTech Innovations (CTEK) Files Racial Discrimination Suit Against Nasdaq

[Originally published in CBK's "Week in Review" email newsletter, Jan. 12, 2012.]

Dear Friends: Welcome to 2012. The holidays did not seem to curb the news coming out of the sector of Chinese companies trading on the U.S. markets. We’ve tried to compile as much of it as we could below. What I noticed, . . . → Read More: Publisher’s Notes

[Originally published in CBK's "Week in Review" email newsletter, Jan. 12, 2012.]

MARKET MOVES

China TMK Battery to Cease Reporting; Weighing Options Shenzhen-based China TMK Battery Systems (OTC: DFEL) announced it had filed a Certification and Notice of Suspension of Duty to File Report with the SEC in order to reduce substantial legal and . . . → Read More: Newsbriefs, Jan. 11, 2012

(CBK’s new “list” of indicators & trends for China-based U.S. listed companies.)

Companies which have launched and/or completed Share Repurchase Programs: (in alphabetical order)

Charm Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRM) China Cord Blood Corp. (NYSE: CO) ChinaCast Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CAST) China Gerui Advanced Materials Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHOP) China Housing & Land Development Inc. . . . → Read More: Janet’s List for Dec. 13, 2011

(Originally published Dec. 13, 2011, in CBK’s email newsletter, “Week Review. Sign up on CBK’s home page.)

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed a shareholder class action claiming that Beijing-based China Century Dragon (OTN: CCDM) reported falsely inflated revenues to the SEC. According to a press release issued by . . . → Read More: SPECIAL REPORT: China Century Dragon Gets a Reprieve, But to What Avail?