Yuehai Energy Group Co., Ltd. was delisted in July 2025, but the story surrounding the company is far from over. In particular, recent media reports revealed that a former senior executive of the company had orchestrated a car crash to retaliate against audit personnel.
According to a criminal ruling from the Haikou Intermediate People's Court in Hainan Province [(2026) Qiong 01 Xing Zhong No. 181]: On April 28, 2025, the day before the company was due to release its annual report, the company's then-Chief Financial Officer Wang (who had previously served as Chairman and stepped down from that role in September 2024 while remaining as CFO) traveled with company management from Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport to Haikou to negotiate with ZhongShenZhongHuan Certified Public Accountants Hainan Branch and an auditor identified as "A" who was responsible for auditing the company. They demanded a favorable audit opinion, but A refused.
ZhongShenZhongHuan Certified Public Accountants had served as the company's auditor since 2018. In 2023, it had already issued a disclaimer of opinion audit report and an adverse internal control report. If the same happened again in 2024, the company would certainly be delisted. After being refused, Wang arranged for his cousin Zhang and others to carry out retaliation.
At 6:41 PM on April 28, 2025, they located auditor A's vehicle and deliberately crashed into it. Because no one was inside the car, there were no casualties. They then proactively called the police, disguising the incident as a traffic accident.
The court ultimately ruled that the three defendants retaliated against audit personnel with despicable criminal motives and deserved severe punishment, sentencing them to prison terms ranging from 1 year and 5 months to 2 years respectively.
Such plots were previously only seen in films and television dramas. Unexpectedly, they actually occurred between a listed company and an audit firm. Indeed, art imitates life — what an eye-opening revelation.
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