IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plutos Sama Holdings, Inc. (PSH), today filed an Amended Complaint for injunctive relief to prevent the purported sale of Jagex Limited to Carlyle, which it alleges is invalid and now a second attempt by Jagex’s former closely held owner, Yan Jinggang, to assert his control over assets he lost to banks through foreclosures dating back to April 17, 2020.
Jagex Limited is an online gaming company operating in Irvine, California and Cambridge, England and is most notably known for its famous online RuneScape game. The Amended Complaint seeks to enforce PSH’s rights to an auction win, which it alleges in the Amended Complaint occurred in September of 2020 for a 55% ownership interest of Jagex Limited though its parent company SHNT from seller Huarong Trust Limited managed by China Huarong Asset Management and managed through the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) (which would provide PSH rights to buy out the remaining 45% owner of Jagex Limited; Minsheng Trust).
The case was filed in Federal Court in California on January 21, 2021, one day before the purported Carlyle “swoop” that hit the newswire on January 22, 2021 and is captioned Plutos Sama Holdings, Inc v. Jagex et al. case # Case 8:21-cv-00133 and names Jagex Limited itself as well as laying the fact pattern for Carlyle’s attempted “swoop” as being connected with and acting in concert with Jagex’s former closely held owner Yan.
PSH Amended Complaint alleges Yan Jinggang is using bribery and other methods in violation of the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) and various other federal and state law claims to usurp PSH’s rightful beneficial rights to SHNT and Jagex Limited. Yan’s torrid past should have been obvious to anyone based on an online search and all the emails sent by the trail of victims he left in China and America and the Amended Complaint alleges that the Carlyle Group should have realized Yan was involved with purchasing assets related to SHNT or Jagex. PSH alleges it received multiple warnings that caused it to look deeply into Platinum’s backers and ultimately pursue the target without the group allegedly connected with Yan.
“According to the CSRC, it plans to order * ST fukong to make corrections, give a warning and impose a fine of 600000 yuan; give a warning to Yan Jinggang and impose a fine of 600000 yuan; give a warning to 15 responsible persons, including Wang Xiaoqiang, Zhu Jianzhou and LV Yandong, and impose a fine of 30000-200000 yuan. A total of 2.65 million yuan is to be fined.
It is worth noting that this is the second time that Yan Jinggang has received advance notice of [a] lifelong ban this year. On March 10, 2020, * ST Yufu received the prior notice of administrative punishment and market ban issued by the CSRC. As the actual controller of * ST Yufu, Yan Jinggang organized, planned, led and implemented the illegal acts involved in the case. The CSRC intends to decide to take lifelong measures to ban him from entering the securities market (emphasis added).
Upon information and belief, Yan Jinggang fled China in 2018 and moved to Orange County, California and sometime in 2020 started working with Carlyle to buy the company and block PSH. PSH alleges that not once did Yan Jinggang or Carlyle follow the proper SASAC auction instructions as required under Chinese law.
As reported by Reuters, “As early as January 19, 2018, * ST fukong, * ST Youfu and Hongda mining announced at the same time that the CSRC decided to file a case against Yan Jinggang for suspected violation of securities laws and regulations.
When the investor claims for compensation, the Chinese technology department is heavily in debt and has been included for many times. Yan Jinggang, the execute [sic], is restricted from consumption[.]”
Huarong Trust, a Chinese state owned “bad bank” managed by China Huarong Asset Management Company, Ltd., recently made worldwide headlines as its former chairman Lai Xiaomin was convicted of receiving or seeking bribes totaling 1.788 billion yuan ($276.72 million) from 2008 to 2018, when he was also a senior banking regulator, according to the Secondary Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin. See Ex-chairman of China Huarong Asset Management sentenced to death | Reuters. A first in modern Chinese banking history, “The severe treatment of Lai Xiaomin reflects the strong determination of the Central Committee with President Xi Jinping as the core to administer the party and its zero tolerance in punishing corruption,” the company said in a statement.
As reported by South China Morning Post, “China Huarong Asset Management, the mainland’s largest bad-debt manager, has been active in funding the country’s biggest corporate borrowers, including a number of companies and individuals firmly under the regulatory spotlight, according to a list circulated following the detention of its chairman last week for suspected graft.
The line-up is a venerable Who’s Who of China’s biggest corporate borrowers, but also offers an intriguing glimpse into the murky workings of some of the country’s financing, when non-bank institutions have stepped into provide funding when stringent lending guidelines fail.
Established in 1999 to manage the bad loans of state-owned banks, Huarong has transformed itself into a financier active in lending through a variety of financial products, thanks to strong levels state credit and a powerful portfolio of financial service licenses.
The list, issued by the load manager’s head office, was intended to provide a picture of its exposure to the related firms as soon as possible, a source said. The list also revealed that Huarong acted as lender to a number of shadowy groups.
PSH’s Amended Complaint further alleges that Huarong admitted in a negotiation meeting with PSH that it knew Carlyle was under an agreement with Yan Jinggang while speaking with both potential bidders.
PSH alleges that it played by the rules and won the auction pursuant to the required Chinese laws involving SASAC only to watch Yan Jinggang once again use his methods to block, derail and tortiously interfere with PSH’s existing and future contractual rights to the unique asset SHNT and Jagex Limited while acting in concert with Carlyle and the sellers Huarong and Minsheng.
Plutos Sama Holdings, Inc. Plutos Sama Holdings, Inc. is a private equity company in the business of taking control positions in domestic and international distressed and contentious residential and commercial real estate ventures, micro-lending, securitizations, law firms, restaurants, mortgage servicing platforms, and eSports.
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