"These scoundrels, why are there such swindlers in the market, and why aren't they cleared out sooner!" Kraft and the others were instantly enraged when they learned the truth, and questioned sternly.
"Well... they've always been here, and we never expected such a thing to happen! It's interfered with your business, sir!" a person in charge of the futures market said, wiping sweat from his brow.
Kraft had summoned him early in the morning for a severe reprimand. It couldn't be helped. Although he was one of the people in charge of the futures market, Kraft had helped him get there, and there were many unsavory dealings between him and Kraft's organization. He would never escape Kraft's control in this lifetime.
"This kind of thing shouldn't exist!" Kraft said angrily. "We are conducting legitimate business, emphasizing fairness and justice. Why do you allow such people to appear in the futures market? Isn't this ruining the reputation of the entire futures market?"
"Not to mention that these people openly appear within the futures market, hobnobbing with some of your staff, and can even directly enter the futures market warehouses to show our alliance's stored soybeans to others."
"This is t"
"How dare you quibble! What you're saying is problematic. Why has this matter never been dealt with?" Kraft questioned.
"Because the market implicitly condones it!" the executive said helplessly. "These swindlers secretly give half of their ill-gotten gains to the market's operations committee."
"As you know, the operations committee's income isn't high, with an average monthly income of just over $10,000 per person. These swindlers' contributions allow each executive to receive an additional income of double their salary, so the operations committee naturally tolerates such things."
"After all, it's not the futures market's fault if people are swindled; they're just too foolish. At most, they'll fire one or two temporary warehouse workers and call it a day. Everyone gets to keep the money they've earned. Otherwise, it's going against the entire operations committee, and I can't refuse!" the executive said.
"...This... this... this is going to ruin us Americans!!" Kraft lamented, a wave of sorrow suddenly washing over him.
"Actually, there's another thing..." the executive stammered.
"What is it?"
"Actually, the mastermind behind this group is that gentleman's brother-in-law! He's that gentleman's brother-in-law!" the executive said.
"Which gentleman?"
"The tall one!"
"Oh, then it's nothing!" Kraft's expression immediately softened. Since it was that gentleman's affair, it was no longer a problem. They would just pretend nothing had happened and figure out how to clean up the mess for him.
Subsequently, Kraft's alliance began to find ways to clean up the mess.
At first, Kraft himself thought it would be simple to just pretend nothing had happened and make those people disappear. However, the Chinese procurement delegation was not having it. They still didn't know that those people were swindlers and, holding the signed contracts, approached the futures trading market, demanding that the futures trading market fulfill the contracts and wanting to pay the $200 million upfront to commence execution.
This made the situation extremely tricky for both the market and the alliance. The matter was not suitable for exposure, as it would affect the alliance's reputation, and that gentleman's brother-in-law might also get angry.
But the problem was, the Chinese didn't understand. They kept making a fuss, as who could refuse to buy at a $20 discount per unit?
In desperation, after consulting with that gentleman and receiving his permission, Kraft instructed the market to inform the Chinese procurement delegation that they had almost been swindled by a non-existent fraudulent organization.
Then, something that shocked Kraft immensely happened: these members of the Chinese procurement delegation actually called the police. They directly approached the local police to report the swindlers and demand severe punishment.
"They actually dared to call the police! They actually called the police for such a thing!!" Kraft was incredibly shocked. Was this something one could call the police about?
Why call the police for financial matters? It wasn't like they were killed. Did they really think the US police would handle such things?
These words were not wrong. The US police genuinely did not want to get involved. Their reason for refusal was very straightforward: the losses had not yet occurred. Since no money had been defrauded, and the $200 million had not yet been paid, how could it be reported as fraud?
As a result, the Chinese procurement delegation stated that to facilitate this transaction, they had purchased expensive gifts worth $100,000 that day for the swindler group as tokens of appreciation.
Furthermore, the procurement delegation had also paid an additional $2 million in advance for the soybeans. This was a trial transaction conducted before the procurement, as the delegation also wanted to ascertain if the other party truly had the capability to deliver.
After all, if they were swindlers, they certainly wouldn't be able to produce soybeans worth $2 million. Therefore, in total, the Chinese delegation was genuinely defrauded of $2.1 million, which was undoubtedly a staggering fraud case. It would be strange if the Chinese didn't report it.
Initially, the police still refused, asking if financial and futures market matters could be considered fraud.
However, the Chinese did not understand American rules and simply insisted on their point, demanding that the police recover the $2.1 million. Moreover, the matter escalated further as many unscrupulous journalists discovered this highly interesting news and reported on it extensively, causing a significant stir. Many ordinary Americans voiced their opinions, stating that they should not lose face in front of foreigners.
Indeed, at this time, America was still the supreme overlord of the planet. Their dignity was priceless. They couldn't possibly lose face over a mere $2.1 million. You might not be able to recover it, but you couldn't even pretend to try!
Therefore, the local police had no choice but to brace themselves and declare that they would apprehend the culprits. But where were they to catch them? Although some leaders vaguely knew the background of the main culprit, they couldn't even get within 1,000 meters of that gentleman's estate, let alone take any action!
After four or five days, there were still no results. Kraft and the others couldn't wait any longer. With each passing day, their holding costs increased by $2-5, and their profits decreased by millions of dollars. It was better to pool together $2.1 million to resolve the issue.
After all, maximizing profit was key. In finance, reputation was not worth much!
On April 12, 2004, the Chinese soybean procurement delegation officially began concentrated price negotiations with the US institutional alliance regarding soybeans. At this time, the price of soybeans in the futures market had soared to $644 per ton, reaching an unprecedented height.
The institutional alliance's holding cost was $483, and their total purchase quantity had also increased to 10 million tons, basically matching the tonnage of soybeans held by the institutional alliance.
Once the transaction was finalized, the total transaction value would reach a staggering $6.4 billion, and all the institutional alliances combined would earn a colossal profit of nearly $1.6 billion.