Chinese Communist Party-linked companies and investment funds are listed amongst the financiers of Elon Musk’s bid to purchase Twitter, a new Securities and Exchange Commission document reveals.
The revelation comes from a May 4th amendment filed by Musk which shows over one dozen equity investors – either people or companies funding his purchase in exchange for a share of ownership – in Twitter.
“Each Equity Investor listed in the following table has committed to contribute to Parent […] cash in the amount set forth opposite such Equity Investor’s name in the following table in order to fund a portion of the Merger Consideration contemplated by the Merger Agreement,” explains the document before revealing the following investors:
Among the companies providing billions in investment is the Chinese Communist Party-linked cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, whose aggregate equity commitment totals $500,000,000.
Founded by Changpeng Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian business executive, Binance retains partnerships with Chinese state-owned entities, as revealed in a 2020 press release:
Binance China Blockchain Institute, the research institute part of the world’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Binance, today announced a strategic partnership with Zhongshang Beidou Supply Chain Management Group (Zhongshang Beidou), a state-level model enterprise for supply chain innovation and application established by (China) Commercial Network Construction Development Center under the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).
Binance also participates in China’s exploitative Belt and Road Initiative alongside several state-owned enterprises:
Binance China Blockchain Institute joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) as a high-level United States (UN) partner on June 16, 2020, aiming to facilitate China’s “Belt & Road Initiative” and promote sustainable development. Other UNGC members are 15 leading enterprises and institutional partners in China, including China Development Bank, Sinopec and the State Grid Corporation of China.
Individuals who list themselves as Directors and Managers at Binance also have a history of working for Chinese state-run media, state-run universities, the Chinese Communist Party’s State Council, and Tencent.
Another Twitter investor, Sequoia Capital – which contributed $800,000,000 – also has deep Chinese Communist Party links through its personnel and companies it funds.
Sequoia Capital China founder Neil Shen has attended high-level Chinese Communist Party strategy meetings, and his fund backs companies including TikTok parent company ByteDance, sanctioned Chinese drone maker DJI, and controversial genomics firm BGI, which has been accused by U.S. intelligence officials of trying to steal Americans’ personal genetic information.
Alibaba and Ant Financial, which play a key role in the regime’s “social credit” score system and vaccine passport platform, are also included in Sequoia China’s portfolio.
While Musk has pledged to reform Twitter to protect free speech, the inclusion of investors with ties to foreign countries which lack any semblance of free speech raises concern about Musk’s pledge materializing.
Other foreign countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are also represented in Musk’s Twitter deal. Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of the state-owned Qatar Investment Authority, committed $375,000,000 to the deal.
Another equity investor, Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, pledged nearly 35,000,000 shares, valued at 54.20 per share, “in order to retain an equity investment in Twitter following completion of the Merger in lieu of receiving Merger Consideration in the Merger.”
