FBI opens foreign money investigation into Chinese Donald Trump donor Cindy Yang
- Investigators obtained a subpoena seeking records from Bing Bing Peranio, an employee of Yang’s family’s spa business who contributed US$5,400
The FBI has opened a public corruption investigation into Republican donor and South Florida massage-parlour entrepreneur Li “Cindy” Yang, focusing on whether she illegally funnelled money from China into the president’s re-election effort or committed other potential campaign-finance violations, The Miami Herald reports.
Investigators obtained a federal grand jury subpoena on Tuesday seeking records from Bing Bing Peranio, an employee of Yang’s family’s spa business who last year contributed a maximum US$5,400 to President Donald Trump’s re-election effort, according to a source familiar with the probe.
Yang went to Peranio’s workplace and helped her write the cheque, Peranio told reporters from The New York Times, who first reported the contribution. Peranio told the newspaper she did not “say no”.
The subpoena asked for any records related to the March 5, 2018 donation and possibly other contributions since 2014, said the source, who asked for anonymity to discuss an ongoing federal investigation.
Peranio told The Miami Herald that she had received a subpoena and FBI agents interviewed her at her home on Thursday.
She said she did not understand why investigators were interested in her political contributions.
