Chinese Solar Executive Charged in Australia With Offering Bribe Hidden in a Bag of Tea

(Sydney) — Australian authorities have arrested a senior executive of a Chinese solar-inverter maker Shenzhen Growatt New Energy Co. Ltd. on charges of attempting to bribe a government official with $20,000 hidden in a bag of tea, an incident that could complicate the company’s planned IPO in Hong Kong.

Police apprehended a 39-year-old Chinese national, identified in court documents as Zhu Guoxin, at Sydney Airport on July 24 as he was preparing to board a flight. Zhu, the company’s Australia country manager, was extradited to Queensland the following day and remains in custody after a court denied his bail application.