Chapter 44: Suspected of International Money Laundering

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Suspected of International Money Laundering

Chase Sutton knocked on the door. Upon receiving permission from inside, he pushed it open and stepped aside. "Ms. Sinclair, please come in."

Rian finally got a clear look at the people inside. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes. "Isn’t that the official from the Ministry of Finance?" she thought.

Rian stepped into the room. Aside from the elderly man from the Ministry of Finance, she recognized the other two elderly men from television. She respectfully lowered her posture slightly. "Gentlemen, apologies for the intrusion."

The elderly man sitting at the head of the table looked at her with kind eyes and a faint smile. "Sinclair, there is no need to be so formal. Come, have a seat anywhere."

Rian took the nearest seat. The elderly man continued, "The reason I asked Fuller to invite you here today, Sinclair, is simply to ask a few questions. There’s no need to be nervous."

Rian understood that the elderly man was beating around the bush. She smiled in response. "Chief Young, if you have any questions, please ask directly. I will tell you everything I know."

"Hahaha, Sinclair, then this old man won’t use the roundabout ways of my generation. I’ll use your young people’s way and speak frankly." The elderly man’s tone was amiable, yet it revealed traces of authority and scrutiny.

Rian smiled and nodded.

Chief Young’s initially kind tone suddenly turned serious. "Sinclair, you’ve had a rather large influx of assets and income lately."

"You must be joking, Chief Young. I merely inherited the estate of an elderly foreign woman," Rian blurted out her prepared excuse without batting an eye.

This was the source of funds the system had initially established. It went through Helvetian Bank, making the money clean and legitimate. Furthermore, the benefactor was deceased and had no living relatives. It was a classic case of dead men telling no tales.

"You acquired The Tipsy Abode with over a billion in assets, spent several billion acquiring an emerging tech company, and then dropped ten billion to buy Argent’s landmark building, The Glacial Spire. You have two luxury mansions and several luxury cars under your name. Furthermore, you’ve tipped several streamers on a short-video app, accumulating to hundreds of millions. Even after transferring out ten billion just recently, your liquid assets still sit at two billion. Do you have any explanation for these cash flows, Sinclair?"

Rian smiled and didn’t answer immediately. "Truly worthy of being my motherland," she sighed internally. "Simply impressive. They almost dug up everything down to my underwear."

Her expression remained natural. "Since you called me here, Chief Young, I’m sure you’ve already investigated thoroughly. Therefore, I don’t feel there is anything to explain. Being legal and compliant is my explanation."

She knew it was perfectly legal. Although it was highly unusual, there was no law stating that being unusual equated to being illegal.

Chief Young kept a close eye on Rian’s facial expressions after he spoke, but there wasn’t the slightest ripple of emotion. This left him puzzled. "Sinclair, your assets are indeed legal and compliant, and our country encourages citizens to actively start businesses and consume rationally.

"However, your source of income is... far too suspicious.

"After all, the Sinclair we know wasn’t like this. This sudden change only happened two days ago. Your past experiences also lead us to doubt the legitimacy of you possessing this massive sum of money.

"Therefore, our initial judgment is...

"You are involved in international money laundering."

As Chief Young’s last sentence fell, the entire hall plunged into silence. The other two elderly men also kept a constant watch on any changes in Rian’s demeanor.

But her expression was simply too natural. In such a high-pressure situation, an ordinary civilian would be terrified. Yet she, whose background was exactly that of an ordinary civilian, remained completely unfazed while facing a group of top-tier officials. It was truly unbelievable. Her excessive nonchalance only deepened their suspicions.

Chief Young was hoping to coax some information out of Rian. While possessing tens or hundreds of billions in assets was not entirely surprising in Veridia, it certainly wasn’t enough to warrant such a massive effort from the Economic Investigation Department and the Ministry of Finance.

However, according to the information they uncovered and the globally co-branded Centurion Gold Card, the amount in her account was staggeringly high. The account balance read: 99999999999999+∞. (Ian has something to say: Please don’t compare this to reality!)

With every single purchase, the balance remained completely unchanged; it was always that exact number. This inevitably drew the attention of the higher-ups.

Chief Young had decisively reported the matter upon seeing those countless zeros. Thus, the moment he received his orders, he took a flight straight to Argent. When checking the source of income, the designation simply read "inheritance." But whose inheritance had so much money it couldn’t even be counted?

Yet all their investigations indicated that this source of funds was entirely legal and compliant. But the more reasonable it seemed, the more problematic it was!

He wanted to see if he could probe out any secrets, but her expression was as natural as if to say, "Isn’t it normal to have all this?"

Rian glanced at the papers on the table and roughly guessed that they contained information about her. She couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly. Individuals truly had zero privacy in front of the state. But so what? In Veridia, Rian was a law-abiding citizen! She was only loyal to her own country!

"Chief Young, while international money laundering can result in large deposits, no fool would put all their money on a single card," Rian’s voice rang out. But looking at the other party’s expression, she figured they probably thought she was exactly that fool.

"Chief Young, it’s not like you can’t investigate whether I’m actually involved in international money laundering or not. Why bother trying to trick me into confessing? What I said about inheriting an estate is also true. It isn’t just baseless nonsense."

Rian was just one step short of writing "If you don’t believe me, then investigate me!" across her face.

But the reason they invited her here in the first place was precisely because they had already investigated and found nothing useful. Who knew they still wouldn’t get any useful information out of her?

Chief Young’s expression softened. "Sinclair, we know you are a law-abiding citizen. Furthermore, you collaborated with the Argent police to help trafficked Veridians. For you to have such courage, you truly are a formidable youth!"

As Chief Young spoke, there was a trace of gratitude in his words. Rescuing trafficked Veridians was their mission as soldiers.

"You flatter me, Chief Young. Soldiers will always walk ahead of us. I only did a very small thing, and it is my fortune to be able to help the country." She spoke these words from the bottom of her heart. She loved her motherland; she loved its partiality and its solemnity, and she wished for it to thrive and prosper.

Chief Young’s eyes sparkled brightly. "Good kid! Good kid! The higher-ups also have some understanding of you, and we hope you, Sinclair, will continue to do more things that benefit Veridia."

Chief Young paused. His gaze fell upon Rian as if he were looking through her, seeing the millions of young people behind her who were building up the motherland. "Our future endeavors will rely on you young people."

Rian nodded heavily, her tone earnest and sincere. "Rest assured, Chief Young. I will definitely do everything in my power to make the country prosperous and strong."

By the time Chase Sutton escorted Rian out, the sky had already darkened. Rian had spoken with the three elderly men for a long time, and she admired Chief Young from the bottom of her heart.

Every word he spoke, every thought he had, was dedicated to Veridia.

There were many people like him. The happy and healthy lives they lived today were all hard-won by the older generation who had risked their lives. As the younger generation, they could not let them down.