How Did an Ambitious Cross-Border Settlement Firm’s Dream Turn Sour?

A financial technology enterprise has raised market attention and secured billions of yuan from state investors with its eye-popping blueprint to become a cross-border settlement giant comparable to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system.

But some experts are asking whether its dream is too big. And it has drawn the attention of graft investigators for its murky connections with local officials, including former Chongqing party chief and Politburo member Sun Zhengcai, who was recently put under investigation.