Swiss banking giant UBS has ordered an internal probe against Helen Yang, an investment banker based in Hong Kong, for allegedly aiding a high-profile businessman launder money, according to South China Morning Post.
The probe comes after a Chinese journalist and whistle-blower Wang Wenzhi accused her of having an extramarital affair with Song Lin, the chairman of a state-owned conglomerate China Resources Holdings.
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Wenzhi, a principal reporter at Xinhua’s Economic Information Daily newspaper, in a letter posted on his microblog account wrote that Helen Yang had helped him transfer and launder funds gained through corruption.
Wang’s letter is addressed to the disciplinary body of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and claims that Yang had been given jobs at UBS on the strength of Song’s influence after their affair began, rfa.org has reported.
At UBS, Yang’s responsibilities include liaising with the bank’s corporate clients, including some Chinese state-owned enterprises.
Hitting back at the allegations, Song in a statement said he was "extremely indignant" at the accusations in Wang’s online letter and owed to file a libel lawsuit against the journalist.
"These allegations are pure fabrication and vicious defamation," the statement added.
