Darkstone Code-Chapter 893 - 891: Hearing

How much customs duty can be levied on a loose, fresh container of tobacco leaves?

Similarly, a container that has undergone all processing procedures and is compressed, how much customs duty is charged on tobacco leaves?

The difference is vast, yet also minimal, because they are collectively referred to as "tobacco leaves."

The more Kleve and tobacco Every Moment sells in the Federation, the more tobacco they need to declare, and the more taxes they need to pay.

This may not seem like a huge figure, but it’s definitely not small. Every year, millions in tariffs quietly disappear at the border.

No issues arose before because no one wanted to touch Every Moment, and this billion-dollar company isn’t something that can be easily tackled by ordinary individuals or organizations.

Could the Federal Tax Bureau be unaware of their maneuvers?

Of course, they know. Even people like Austin’s anti-smuggling team know the tricks Every Moment is up to; surely the Tax Bureau knows.

But knowing is one thing; taking action is another. Investigating such a massive corporate group necessitates considering many issues.

Such as coordination between departments and whether government officials support the investigation.

Capitalists can push through "temporary emergency bills" by certain means, which is why many consortiums never falter.

As long as the money is spent appropriately, just like the Duncan Clan, whether or not you support our views and ideas, take this two thousand as a gesture of our sincerity.

Once the money is pocketed, even if someone doesn’t support it, they won’t blatantly oppose it unless there’s a personal vendetta.

Once the bill passes, the investigation must cease, and behaviors that seemed illegal might now become legal — another peculiarity in Federation legal instances.

If an issue arises where "incomplete judiciary" prevents a reasonable resolution, those who violated the law or organizations involved might see their responsibilities reduced or even absolved.

This is akin to the early "Public Facility Rights Act," where before its existence, people took equipment from public facilities home, later facing prosecution by local authorities.

But these individuals claimed "no explicit legal explanations or clauses proving their actions as criminal," eventually leading to absolution from all responsibilities along with the enactment of the "Public Facility Rights Act."

If Every Moment relentlessly pushes for both "fresh tobacco leaves" and "dried and processed tobacco leaves" to have customs duties levied by container, then the Tax Bureau’s investigation naturally bears no fruit.

Therefore, to take action, backing from the Federation Government and public opinion is essential.

Currently, Every Moment has lost support from the Federation Government. If they continue to fail in public opinion, seemingly insignificant issues might become the key to toppling Every Moment.

The President fell into a prolonged silence, with only his heavy and labored breathing echoing inside the phone booth.

This situation lasted for one or two minutes before he suddenly rammed his elbow into the phone booth, the intense pain making him more agitated.

After a bout of outburst, he panted heavily and said, "Too much. If it were less, maybe we could negotiate."

Lynch patiently waited for him, "As far as I know, Every Moment’s shareholder composition is relatively simple."

He didn’t consent to the President’s proposal, nor did he oppose it; instead, he communicated in another way.

Every Moment is backed by Mariluo’s major warlords, making the nature of such enterprises inherently complex. Small fortunes can’t measure up; wealthy individuals avoid them. Those remaining interested aren’t necessarily able to force Every Moment to bow.

Seventy percent of Every Moment’s board are the President’s puppets, with the rest being early investors.

In other words, a substantial amount of shares are still in their hands.

Every Moment’s development is too good; it’s a mid-generation industry. Now, entering this field offers virtually no hope.

Not to say Lynch can’t do it — he can, but definitely can’t achieve it.

Or he could spend multiple times the effort and money for disproportionate returns.

Now is a good opportunity, and Lynch sees this chance; naturally, he wants to step in.

The emergence of cured tobacco means cigarettes will penetrate more groups faster, much like young and youth groups now.

The Federation has laws mandating that those under twenty cannot drink alcohol, but no laws prohibit them from smoking.

A vast market, tantalizingly lucrative.

For capitalists, every opportunity is worth launching a full-scale offensive.

Lynch’s words made the President pause for a moment before realizing it was no coincidence, "You’ve investigated me."

"I’m just interested in all businesses that make money," he neither admits nor denies.

"Maximum five percent, no more!" The President gave his psychological price, "Moreover, you have to pay in cash; I don’t accept stock swaps."

Five percent is nearly tens of millions. Coupled with the condition of no share exchange, he doesn’t believe Lynch can digest that much.

But it was obvious that he seemed unaware of Lynch’s determination to take a bite out of Every Moment.

"Perhaps tomorrow you will have new ideas, Mr. President. Good night."

The president looked at the phone in disbelief; wasn’t business supposed to be a back-and-forth exchange?

He just replied with a price, and Lynch hung up the phone, which brought him great fear. He didn’t know what Lynch was going to do, but he knew Lynch was definitely not a normal person.

Many who opposed him ended up very badly. Some say it’s Lynch’s luck, but others claim it’s his methods.

People don’t want to acknowledge Lynch’s abilities, emphasizing his luck, but in reality, they are just jealous of his youth, that’s all.

The president didn’t know what Lynch was going to do; he was just instinctively afraid.

At the same time, on the other end, Lynch put the receiver back on the phone and rested his fingertips together. After sitting and contemplating for a while, he called Austin over.

"Do you still have any good friends over in the anti-smuggling unit?"

Austin nodded, "I do, what are you planning to do?"

He smiled and said, "I need a phone call..."

Half an hour later, close to eleven o’clock, a man called Lynch, his voice overflowing with joy.

There was no help for it; Lynch, on behalf of Darkstone Capital, had donated one million to the border anti-smuggling unit.

It’s legal for individuals to donate to Federation Government agencies, but the money must be placed in a designated account, publicly disclosed within a specific time, and its usage must be under public scrutiny.

No matter how complicated using this money could be, it’s still a million, no matter how complex.

Soon, the captain of the anti-smuggling unit came to thank Lynch and conveniently handed a phone number to Lynch.

This anti-smuggling unit captain also invited Lynch to visit them when he had time, claiming there would be great gains.

After hanging up the phone, Lynch looked at Austin, who seemed a bit embarrassed, "Every year, among the smuggled goods we confiscate, except those ordered to be destroyed, the rest find a way into auctions..."

Lynch raised his hand to signal her to stop. It’s the same routine as with bank auctions, just telling people there’s an auction but not when or where it is held, nor how to attend.

As a result, items with ridiculously low starting prices are sold at those prices, becoming a sort of hidden benefit.

The next day, more wealthy individuals returned to the Federation, but compared to Lynch, they were in much more disarray.

Their clothes were taken by robbers, leading to every wealthy person wearing Navy soldiers’ uniforms, which gave the media a lot to speculate about.

With the media’s attitude of fearing a lack of big news, soon the special editions’ headlines of major newspapers that day were related to these wealthy individuals.

Major newspapers speculated on the horrific treatment they received, while tabloids added gossip and even maliciously speculated that certain unnamed ladies experienced all sorts of abuse.

These reporters depicted every detail vividly as if they had witnessed the whole process firsthand.

Of course, beyond all of this, people were even more concerned whether what Lynch said was true.

Perhaps this journey was indeed "unexpected," as these highborn wealthy individuals were humiliated and mistreated for the first time, their rage needed an outlet.

They couldn’t vent their anger at the Navy, nor at the Federation Government. The only target was Mariluo and the Every Moment Company.

They roughly understood why the captain preferred a thorough search over docking, and thus Every Moment Company became the most suitable scapegoat!

After obtaining this information from the wealthy individuals, some reporters reported that Every Moment’s stock plummeted by another seven percent.

Compared to a few days ago, its current market value was only thirty-five percent of what it was, and the situation continued to deteriorate.

Of course, aside from these issues, something else happened, someone initiated a hearing against Lynch because the timing of Lynch’s shorting of Every Moment was too coincidental, inevitably raising suspicions.

Not to mention that on the ship, he extorted a million in ransom money from these tycoons; even if they couldn’t bring Lynch down, disgusting him a bit was worthwhile.

Considering Lynch’s special status, the Security Committee and Military Intelligence Bureau participated throughout.

However, since much of the information hadn’t been verified, the hearing was not open to the public, at least for now.

"Mr. Lynch, can you answer my question, why did you send these messages to the telegraph office at that time?" asked a senior official responsible for interrogation work at the Security Committee.

Lynch himself was also a special advisor to the Security Committee, so it was more appropriate for the Security Committee to take the lead, as he was considered one of their own.

It wouldn’t be proper for other departments to take action. This is also one of the Federation’s unspoken rules—

When your own people make a mistake, only you can clean up the mess!