Lawmakers Ask Treasury Department to Probe China-Based Billionaire Over Alleged Ties to ‘Far-Left Entities’
Udumbara
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Two House Oversight Republicans are urging the Treasury Department to formally investigate a China-based billionaire as part of a broader investigation into the Chinese regime’s attempts to create division in the United States.
Singham is a U.S. citizen and self-described socialist who lives with his wife, Jodie Evans, in Shanghai.
The lawmakers said their request is part of the committee’s investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to “sow discord” in the United States. This strategy is intended to “make internal disputes amongst the enemy so deep that they become distracted from [the] conflict,” they stated, citing a report by analyst Martin Purbrick.
“If Mr. Singham is carrying out this strategy on behalf of the CCP, he may have an unfulfilled FARA registration obligation,” the lawmakers wrote, referring to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a decades-old U.S. law designed to ensure transparency when foreign governments or entities attempt to influence public opinions or policymakers.
“It is imperative that we expeditiously halt the continued flow of funds and material support for malign activities conducted at the behest of the CCP,” the lawmakers wrote in the recent letter.
The lawmakers referenced media reports, suggesting that Singham “may have acted as an agent for the CCP.”
They alleged that Singham was “the main backer” behind the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Marxist political group that they claimed had organized nationwide protests, including the riots in Los Angeles.
The lawmakers also alleged that Singham launched a consulting business in 2019 with Chinese partners who were “active in the [CCP’s] propaganda apparatus.”
“In addition to potential criminal liability for failing to register as a foreign agent under FARA these reported activities and the entities controlled by and funded by Mr. Singham raise the question of whether his assets and/or the assets of entities he controls or funds are subject to sanctions administered or enforced by Treasury and its components,” the lawmakers wrote.
Nineteen organizations were named in the letter—including Party for Socialism and Liberation, Code Pink, No Cold War, United Community Fund, Justice and Education Fund, People’s Support Foundation, People’s Forum, and Dongsheng News—that the lawmakers said should be included in the Treasury’s evaluation, as these entities are “alleged to have ties with Singham.”
The lawmakers said the Treasury should keep them updated periodically on their progress in investigating the matter, since information related to this issue “is essential to evaluate current legal authorities and to inform legislation ensuring the U.S. Government has adequate capabilities to combat CCP influence operations.”
Representatives of Singham could not be reached for comment.
The Drug Enforcement Administration was the only agency that had “transparently acknowledged” the CCP’s infiltration operations and had a strategy to confront them, specifically the CCP’s role in the fentanyl crisis, according to the report.
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