Chapter 142 - Solid Evidence
Even after setting aside 10 million Hong Kong dollars to buy industrial land and another 10 million for company reserves, Aimeigao still had 80 million Hong Kong dollars remaining. This meant that each of the two partners, Lin Haoran and Liu Luanxiong, could pocket about 40 million Hong Kong dollars in dividends.
Forty million! Even for Lin Haoran, that was not a small amount. And with the explosion in orders this month, July's profits would clearly be even higher. To Lin Haoran, leaving that kind of money sitting idle in the company account was indeed a waste.
The company's major expenses — purchasing production materials, employee wages, and transportation costs — were manageable. Rent and other expenses were minor. Furthermore, transportation costs were already passed on to distributors, significantly increasing export profits to the Americas.
For production materials, with Aimeigao's current scale, many suppliers in Hong Kong were willing to provide goods on credit. Thus, Aimeigao's actual operational pressure wasn't as high as it seemed. As output grew, the company gained more bargaining power, reducing material costs slightly and further boosting profits.
After chatting with Liu Luanxiong for a while, Lin Haoran left him to his work. Despite having a much larger management team now, Liu Luanxiong still felt he needed to personally oversee many things, given the rapid expansion.
Lin Haoran visited the finance department to check the latest reports, then toured the different floors of the factory, including the newly rented industrial building next door. Both buildings were buzzing with activity — July to September was peak fan season, especially July and August.
After nearly two hours, Lin Haoran noticed that Qingzhou Cement hadn't called back yet — clearly, they were still auditing the accounts. He didn't plan to stay at Aimeigao any longer. His main purpose today had been to review progress and approve the dividend distribution.
Thus, he and bodyguards Li Weiguo and Li Weidong returned to Qingzhou Cement. Half an hour later, Lin Haoran was back in the Chairman's office.
"Boss, we've double-checked the ledgers," said the CFO from Wan'an Group as Lin Haoran entered. "Overall, there are no major issues. However, if we must pinpoint something suspicious, it would be the payroll. Comparing the past six months' records, there's a notable discrepancy in June. We couldn't fully verify because we lack Qingzhou Cement's HR data."
Lin Haoran nodded. "Wait a moment. I'll have HR bring over the staff movement records for the past few months."
He called the HR department. Their current HR Director, a recently recruited and highly loyal Chinese employee, was trustworthy and unlikely to collude with the CFO.
Ten minutes later, the HR Director arrived with the files. "Boss, here are the detailed employee records for the past few months — including hiring dates, resignations, and even monthly work hours," he said respectfully.
"Good, thank you. You may go. I'll call you if I need anything," Lin Haoran replied.
Lin Haoran suspected that Maca, the CFO, had committed internal fraud rather than accepting external bribes. With the new data in hand, the auditing team got to work.
"Boss, there is definitely a problem," the CFO said after half an hour. "Compared to May, each employee's salary in June increased slightly — some by dozens, some by over a hundred Hong Kong dollars. Worse, the payroll listed 1,298 employees in June when the HR records show there should have been 1,236. Sixty-two individuals who had resigned before June were still receiving salaries. The discrepancy amounts to about 360,000 Hong Kong dollars."
Considering Qingzhou Cement's monthly expenses exceeded ten million, such a discrepancy was subtle but significant. Maca had evidently hoped to skim small amounts to avoid detection.
"Check again — thoroughly," Lin Haoran ordered sternly.
Even if the amount was minor by his standards, it was still a serious breach. Embezzling 360,000 a month would add up to millions over time — draining Lin Haoran's businesses.
After recalculating, the audit team confirmed the discrepancy. "Boss, we've verified it again. The June payroll overpaid by 360,000 Hong Kong dollars. In May, there were no such issues," the CFO reported.
In British-owned companies like Qingzhou Cement, welfare and payroll standards were high, and salaries were typically paid early — by the fifth of the following month — in cash. This created ample room for manipulation. No wonder Maca had suddenly started looking to buy property in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Without Lin Haoran's loyalty detection ability, this embezzlement could easily have gone unnoticed. After all, a slight increase in overall expenses would seem normal.
"Thank you for your hard work today. Submit your travel expenses later; it's a little bonus for your help," Lin Haoran said.
The audit team expressed their gratitude and returned to Wan'an Group. Left alone in his office, Lin Haoran gazed at the data on his desk.
The evidence against Maca was undeniable. There was no need for Lin Haoran to personally act. He called Burton to the office. Minutes later, Burton arrived.
"Boss, what's the matter?" Burton asked, glancing at the ledgers.
Lin Haoran calmly explained everything. Hearing it, Burton's expression darkened. Now that the numbers were verified, the conclusion was obvious: fake payroll expenses — a serious offense.
Burton marveled at his boss's insight. From the start, Lin Haoran had zeroed in on Maca — almost as if he had known something was wrong from the beginning. Still, he wisely didn't ask questions.
"Boss, leave this to me. I'll handle it properly and report back by tomorrow," Burton said respectfully.
"Good. I trust you. Also, leave the CFO position vacant for now. The deputy CFO can manage temporarily. I'll personally choose a new CFO," Lin Haoran instructed.
The CFO role was too critical to rush. Lin Haoran already had a candidate in mind but wasn't sure if they could be recruited yet.
After leaving the office, Burton wasted no time. Embezzlement, false accounting — such crimes couldn't be tolerated anywhere.
Burton gathered the evidence and immediately reported it to the police. That evening, with the evidence firmly in hand, the police arrested Maca. They would recover the embezzled funds and prosecute him.
That night, Burton called Lin Haoran to report the outcome and explain the legal process Maca would face. Lin Haoran was very satisfied with Burton's efficiency.
But now, a more important task lay ahead — finding Maca's successor.
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