Shadow Empire

Chapter 1068 Heaven and Hell

Under normal circumstances, Cooper's stockbroker might have argued with them to prove he wasn't a coward.

But now, the situation is different. He looked around the trading hall, where people were watching the changes on the cards. There would be some announcements before the market opened, including the announcement that Hope Mining was suspending trading pending review.

This made the stockbroker's face even uglier; at that moment, he seemed to have lost his soul!
Everyone holding Hope Mining stock had the same expression on their face at this moment.

The stockbroker's eyes had completely lost hope. He turned and left the trading floor, while Cooper glanced at him before turning his gaze to a group of people gathered in the distance.

He walked over there, where members of the Financial Security Management Committee were explaining the situation to angry and terrified investors.

"...All I can say is that we have already begun investigating this incident, and we will disclose any progress to you and the public as soon as possible."

"Before this, I was just like you. I had just received a notification from the committee that they had given me a response draft, and I didn't know what was going on."

"As for the compensation issues you mentioned, it's difficult for me to give you any answers. The purpose of locking down the transactions now is to better help us count the number of victims and the amount of money involved."

"Furthermore, this stock and its company have clearly violated the Financial Security Act and the Trading Act, so even after we complete the registration and statistics, we will not open trading to it."

“We are currently compiling a list of the assets that Hope Mining Company still owns. After the process is completed, the cash value of these assets will be used to compensate you based on the percentage of shares you hold in the outstanding shares.”

Cooper wanted to ask something, but when he opened his mouth, he realized he didn't know what to ask. The person had already said everything he wanted to know.

The other party even said things he hadn't expected, so what else could he say?
He didn't know what to say.

After waiting for a while, he finally asked, "Approximately how much compensation can we expect?"

The official glanced at Cooper, perhaps finding him agreeable, or perhaps because Cooper asked a question everyone wanted to know, and smiled. “We will release information later, including the asset assessment and realization, all of which will be conducted publicly. Please pay attention to the announcements in the Traders’ Report and Finance magazine.”

A fellow investor who had also bought Hope Mining shares next to Cooper turned to him and said, “Don’t expect them to give you much money.”

"Maybe a few cents, or even less."

Cooper found it hard to believe. He wasn't a seasoned investor and had never experienced anything like this before. Seeing his blank expression, the man continued, "These fraudulent companies probably only have tens of thousands of dollars in assets right now, or even less."

"But this money will be divided among many people, into tens of thousands of shares."

"The amount you receive depends on the fraction of the outstanding shares you own, which is only a few cents, and no more than that!"

This is not the first time such a thing has happened. The Financial Supervisory Commission has mature practices, and with previous cases, this approach works very well.

Cooper's heart sank. He opened his mouth, "Is it possible... that it was all just an accident, like we made a mistake?"

The person next to him shook his head. "Unlikely, friend."

"If it were just a misunderstanding, the Financial Supervisory Commission would not have intervened."

“Once they get involved, it means that this is the final outcome.”

The man asked with some curiosity, "How many shares did you buy?"

Cooper chuckled twice. Sometimes you feel an urge to laugh when you're speechless. He shook his head. "Not much. How about you?"

The man smiled and said, "Actually, I didn't buy it."

He saw the confusion in Cooper's eyes, so he explained, "They'll treat us to lunch around noon, and maybe dinner too, you know..."

"Even the fast food in Detland is much better than anywhere else!"

Cooper roughly understood what this guy did for a living: a professional freeloader.

There are quite a few people like this on Detland Street, partly because the whole street is full of financial companies, and these financial elites certainly have much higher demands for their lives than people in other places.

Take the hot dog stand here, for example. The hot dogs here are bigger and longer, and they have more meat chunks inside. Of course, they are also more expensive than in other places.

Financial elites don't care about spending a little more money; they only want the best!

Various celebrations often take place here, with people making money like crazy. After making money, they want to vent their emotions by treating passersby to meals or holding some kind of celebration. These are all good opportunities to freeload.

Moreover, many companies here hold roadshows and promotional activities on the roadside, and they also provide prizes and food.

There was a book called "How I Became a Millionaire". The author of the book, who is also the protagonist of the book, started as a young man who ran errands for others to earn some pocket money and eventually became a millionaire!
This bestselling book has also given many people a more comprehensive understanding of the unique ecological environment of Detland.

Upon hearing that the other party was just there to freeload, Cooper's lips twitched; he could no longer manage a smile.

He had previously thought the other person was a victim like him, but now he realized that this person was just there to watch the show.

He glanced at the noisy crowd again, then turned and slowly walked outside. He needed to calm down and think things through to figure out how to solve the current thorny problem.

All his property became worthless overnight. How could he explain this to his wife and his family?
In addition, he also needs to go to a stockbroker and talk to him to see if there are any other remedial measures or solutions.

Meanwhile, at a manor in the suburbs, they were holding a banquet.

People in high society spend their time outside of work either hosting or attending banquets.

These well-dressed ladies and gentlemen, holding expensive golden sparkling wine, kept raising their glasses and drinking heartily!

Today is a good day!

President Edward put down his champagne glass and looked around at the guests who had come to attend the banquet. His face was glowing with a radiant smile!

"Ladies and gentlemen, this time we have made a profit of over 200 million from the market..."

The ladies and gentlemen present immediately burst into applause, a thunderous clapping that lasted for a long time. Some even whistled, making it seem less like a banquet and more like a sporting event, with spectators cheering for their athletes. President Edward kept smiling, his face beaming. After the applause had continued for a while, he raised his hands to signal everyone to quiet down.

"So, our only requirement for us here today is to be happy!"

As many young men and women entered the hall, fast-paced and energetic music started playing, turning the entire venue into a sea of ​​joy!
Lance stood at a distance, holding a wine glass, watching everything that was happening.

The whisky served at today's banquet is all Gold Label whisky, which is also the best whisky that his company can offer.

Could this be considered a kind of...cooperation?
Driven by primal desires, fueled by alcohol, tobacco, and even pufferfish, many people don simple masks, revealing their wildest side!
An unprecedented, massive promiscuous party!

Of course, there were also some people like Lance who chose to stand by and watch.

You may not like it or not participate, but there's no need to stop others from enjoying it.

After dealing with some of the people, President Edward came to Lance's side.

Lance nodded slightly as a greeting.

President Edward, watching everything unfold, asked with a smile, "Not interested?"

Lance did not deny it, "Lust is the lowest of desires, Mr. President."

This answer was somewhat unexpected for President Edward. He was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. "A very interesting way to refuse. Perhaps I can use it next time."

"Our collaboration this time was perfect. I did the math, and we made a total of over 370 million in profit."

How much money do you think you'll get?

Lance picked up his glass and took a sip. "I don't know, maybe twenty or thirty million?"

This isn't actually a very complicated math problem; it can define a general range, but for more detailed numbers, some calculations are needed.

"Twenty-eight million," President Edward's smile lasted throughout the banquet. "I've rounded it up for you."

President Edward continued, "I've already taken care of the legal investment returns and the taxes. You can transfer it to any account you want, any bank."

New Gold City is the largest financial center in the Federation, and also the largest money laundering center. Money laundering through stocks and private equity funds has always existed and is very difficult to trace.

In fact, the bearer bonds issued by the federal government are also a channel for money laundering, but now these traditional money laundering channels are somewhat less effective than financial investments.

The current standard federal capital gains tax rate is 12.5 percent, but this rate can be lowered further. This involves tax relief policies and some conflicts between states and the federal government.

When local law and federal law conflict, the local law in which the case occurred shall prevail, provided it does not violate the Constitution.

In other words, if a local law stipulates a lower tax rate, that is, if the profits generated from financial investments are less than one million, only seven percent tax needs to be paid (under the old tax law).

In addition, with the tax exemption policy for "long-term holding", this money will ultimately only need to be taxed at about four to five percent.

Federal systems inevitably have such problems and loopholes. In order to attract capital to their states to pay taxes, establish companies, and create jobs, some states sometimes do so even though they know that doing so is, in a sense, exploiting loopholes in federal law.

Five percent of tax and profit may not seem like much, but what if the base is in the hundreds of millions?
Five percent of one million is only fifty thousand, but five percent of ten billion is five hundred million. In order to save another seven hundred million in taxes, capitalists will try every means to make the final settlement in low-tax states.

Once the money has been taxed and is clean, it is then transferred to a designated bank account, thus avoiding at least 7% of the tax.

How to legally avoid taxes at the federal level is always a major issue, and it may even involve economic maneuvering at the state government level.

Lance's face broke into a slight smile, just a little, "Good news!"

President Edward was somewhat surprised. "Do you think it's too little compared to our overall revenue?"

Lance shook his head. "No, there is a lot of it, but to me, clean and unclean don't really make much of a difference."

At this moment, President Edward suddenly realized what Lance did: the Federation's largest bootlegging producer, with daily profits reportedly exceeding one million!
So, this amount of income really doesn't really pique his interest.

"Sometimes I really envy your businesses. Even if the machines in the printing plant work around the clock, they might not be able to produce as much money."

"If there are any business opportunities we can cooperate on in the future, you can consider me, even if it's just a small share."

President Edward wasn't joking, but he wasn't in a rush either, because finance is one of the most profitable businesses right now.

As long as they can completely abandon their personal moral bottom line and have the determination to trample on the law, they can also achieve amazing income by exploiting investors.

Lance nodded. "If there are good projects, I will."

President Edward took a deep breath. "I'll go talk to some other people; they're also waiting for this good news from me."

Lance clinked glasses with him. "Please, go ahead."

President Edward then took a sip of champagne, nodded in acknowledgment, and left.

The entire banquet was filled with an atmosphere of rising desire; even with your eyes closed, you could feel the endless desires of the people intertwining and merging here.

No one cares about the problems those investors will encounter after reaping a few hundred million. To them, those are just things that happen to "others" and have nothing to do with them.

All they have are countless numbers constantly being deposited into their accounts, even though these numbers no longer have any real meaning for them.

But that's the nature of life, and everyone is pursuing changes in numbers and enjoying it.

(End of this chapter)