pjbooks Chapter 41 We can't really go and do environmental protection, can we?
Chapter 41 We can't really go and do environmental protection, can we?
According to unnamed sources, General Motors' debt has exceeded $1700 billion, putting it on the verge of insolvency and bankruptcy.
General Motors submitted a second self-rescue plan to the federal government, promising to lay off 46,000 employees and requesting another $166 billion in loans. This plan was rejected by the Obama administration on February 17th…
Back at the apartment.
Meng Ran sat down in front of the computer.
Looking at the news about General Motors over the past two years.
He kept thinking about one question: If GM is in such a terrible state, why would it donate money to the association for some kind of green and environmentally friendly project?
If he remembers correctly, General Motors really did go bankrupt and restructure in his past life.
Although this is a parallel world, judging from GM's development path, it's only one step away from bankruptcy.
Not right.
Something's definitely not right.
"Could it be that a senior executive at GM is using the guise of donations to take kickbacks and line their own pockets?"
It's not impossible.
The closer a company is to collapse, the more likely there are people to take advantage of the situation and line their own pockets.
But this was not the result Meng Ran wanted.
If Howard simply gave kickbacks to GM executives through the "Donation Designated Use Agreement," then there would be no legal issues.
In other words, this cannot be used as evidence to send Howard to jail.
"Is it true or not?" Meng Ran scratched his chin.
The door opened, and Thea came in with two bottles of beer, complaining, "When are you finally moving out? You have a big house, why do you have to squeeze into this tiny room?"
"The cleaning company hasn't finished cleaning my carpet yet, wait a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Thea handed Meng Ran a bottle of beer and changed the subject, asking, "So, what did you figure out?"
"GM says it wants to promote zero-waste factories. What do you mean by 'waste'? Does it refer to toxic waste and raw materials left over after processing?"
"It should be."
"The leftover scraps are easy to handle, especially some metal parts. But what about the toxic waste... how did they handle it before?"
"There are specialized companies that handle that."
"Do you think it's possible that the green projects Howard is undertaking are actually helping GM and Ford dispose of these toxic wastes?"
"These toxic wastes are very difficult to handle. The Environmental Protection Administration has very strict requirements. How could our association possibly have the capability?"
"Strict?" Meng Ran laughed. "Then why is the Ruzhi River like this now? In the end, it's just strict on the surface."
He added, "Think about it, it would be very expensive for a professional company to handle this waste. But if we let Howard handle it, we might save a lot of money."
"The question is, how will Howard deal with all this waste?"
"It might be shipped to other countries." Meng Ran thought of a possibility. "I checked, and GM has a history of shipping toxic waste to Mexico and West Africa."
"But the association doesn't have that kind of channel." Thea shook her head again.
"Of course there is! The association has been doing secondhand recycling for years. Aren't all the clothes and other items we collect sold overseas by middlemen?"
"So, you're planning to start from this angle to find evidence of Howard's crimes?"
"That's right." Meng Ran nodded.
He then stood up, holding the wine bottle, and paced back and forth, saying, "However, before that, we need to confirm whether Howard is really helping GM or Ford dispose of waste."
Then, consult a lawyer to see if there's anything that could lead to a conviction. Finally, obtain conclusive evidence.
"The first two things are easy to handle, but obtaining evidence might be difficult," Thea said thoughtfully, holding the wine bottle.
If Howard were careful enough, or had a strong sense of precaution, Meng Ran might not have been able to find out where he disposed of the waste.
Even if it is found, there is no guarantee that any substantial evidence will be obtained.
inside the room.
As the two were both deep in thought, they fell silent.
The silence was broken when Meng Ran's phone rang.
It was Clarissa calling. As soon as I answered, I heard her excitedly say, "Just as you said, after I negotiated with Eunice, he has agreed to let me join the board of directors."
"Furthermore, I also have the authority to allocate all the funds received from this dinner."
"And also, I took the opportunity to kick Jimmy and Debbie, those old employees, out of the project team and reassign them to other project teams."
"Really?" Meng Ran laughed along.
It seems that Clarissa has gained a lot this time, especially the power to allocate funds for the banquet donation, which is the biggest source of income for the association's senior management.
the reason is simple.
Large donations are usually accompanied by a "designated use agreement." The association actually has very little autonomy over these funds.
But the donations at the dinner were different; they came from scattered sources, with each person contributing a little.
How to spend the money after receiving it is entirely under the control of the association.
If that's the case, then they must be putting the money into their own pockets through "white glove companies." They can't actually use it for environmental protection, can they?
"I'll split the profits 50/50 with you," Clarissa said in a low voice.
"Put that aside for now, can you help me find out what kind of collaboration Howard has with GM and Ford? Is he helping these two companies dispose of waste?"
"How did you know?" Clarissa asked, somewhat surprised.
She continued, "I was just about to tell you. I just heard from Eunice that Howard got this project. It's worth at least two million a year, paid quarterly. If the agreed-upon weight is exceeded, there will be additional fees."
"So how does he plan to dispose of this waste?" Meng Ran's eyes lit up.
"The project was definitely subcontracted, but Howard won't disclose the specifics of how it was executed to the association. It's like you wouldn't reveal where your promotional resources come from."
"I understand." Meng Ran nodded thoughtfully; gathering evidence was indeed a bit troublesome.
Should we use another [Basic Intelligence Card]?
I'm afraid that won't work. Intelligence is random, and if we don't get the key information, it would be a waste.
Thinking of this, two people suddenly popped into Meng Ran's mind.
Mira, the director of the second project team, and Frank, the director of the third project team.
As veterans of the association, do they have more information?
To be honest, life wasn't easy for these two in the association either. The project team only had a few hundred thousand yuan in funding a year, barely hanging on.
Although they have connections, in this economic environment, those connections don't translate into much money.
Therefore, the two of them were actually short of money.
After a moment's thought, Meng Ran said into his phone, "Some of the donations from the dinner should be allocated to Mira and Frank. We need to be strategic about how we allocate them; we should do it when they think you won't give them any."
"Why?" Clarissa didn't want to give it to him. It wasn't a matter of being stingy; it was a matter of why she should give it to him.
"They're on the board, they have voting rights, and their votes are crucial if we want to get rid of Eunice. Besides, they might have something on Howard," Meng Ran explained.
There is another, more important reason: Meng Ran cannot rely solely on finding evidence of Howard's crimes.
What if we can't catch them?
Are you just going to stare blankly?
We still need to prepare for both possibilities.
Finding ways to influence other board members through personal connections is also a way to achieve a promotion.
After all, in reality, he didn't have any conflicts with the other board members.
Coincidentally.
Meng Ran and Clarissa were talking about Mira and Frank.
Meanwhile, inside the association, the two were protesting in Eunice's office because they "couldn't get a taste of the dinner party."
"This is against the rules!"
"All previous donations, regardless of the project team, have been centrally allocated by the association. Why should Clarissa have complete autonomy over the donations for this dinner?"
"Howard is already strong enough, are we going to make Clarissa strong too?"
"Then how can we protect Mira's and my interests?"
"Our second donation goes to others; we don't get a share of their money, that's not fair!"
As Frank grew more and more agitated, Eunice sat on the sofa, rubbing his temples repeatedly. He had been listening to arguments all day, and his brain was about to explode.
With a wave of his hand, Eunice said to the two of them, "First of all, Clarissa has never taken any of your money; she's only been here for three months."
"Secondly, if I don't agree to her proposal, she will go and cooperate with other associations to host this dinner. In that case, not only will we not get any money, but the association's reputation will also be severely damaged."
"You all know how famous she is in Detroit right now."
With just three sentences, he completely shut Mira and Franka down.
They all understand the reasoning behind it.
But everyone knows that the donations from this dinner will be substantial.
Watching Clarissa eat meat while they couldn't even get a sip of soup, they felt resentful.
In a short time.
The two began to pray silently again, hoping that the dinner party would be a disaster.
But after praying that the event would go wrong, the two wondered what if the dinner was a great success and Clarissa was so happy that she gave them some more money?
I even spoke up for Bane when he was fired.
Damn!
How come Howard made so much money, and Clarissa also made so much money?
Isn't there anyone who can help me earn more money?
Mingming, the people in the second and third project groups of the entire association did the most odd jobs.