Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 474 - 470: Guard Against Yourself? Really Rely on Yourself?

Chapter 474: Chapter 470: Guard Against Yourself? Really Rely on Yourself?

Why did three instances of financial losses occur, with each loss bigger than the last?

Why did the fourth occur even after a new system was introduced and with the experience of the previous three?

How could an ordinary trader, with just a few tricks, swindle investors out of 20 billion?

All these questions emerged in the minds of the jury and the spectators.

Indeed!

Dongxing Securities is a major company, with naturally very strict internal auditing standards.

For financial or securities companies, losses aren’t a big problem—after all, it’s the investment market. But illegal and criminal activities are absolutely not allowed.

If a small trader is able to defraud investors of 20 billion by dealing in high-risk stocks, who can guarantee there won’t be another Li Qingze or Wang Qingze in the future?

With such thoughts, their gazes turned towards Qian Moli.

Does Dongxing Securities truly need to bear responsibility?

Once such a thought began, it couldn’t be stopped.

"This little bastard, using this trick!"

Master Tang couldn’t sit still in the defendant’s seat.

In an instant, he understood Zhang Wei’s "nefarious intent."

All the testimonies Secretary Zhu gave before were completely ineffective, so they’ve been wasted efforts, haven’t they?

We need to prove that the guilty party in this case is Zhan Qingze.

Okay, you don’t deny it, you didn’t even offer a single defense for Zhan Qingze, but instead switched the question.

Since there was a Zhan Qingze, and before him there was a Mr. Dai, a Lei Someone, and a Wu Mo.

Then could there be more traders committing offenses in the future?

Could investors’ money possibly be bizarrely locked up or devoured again without any warnings?

It’s possible!

And very likely!

If Dongxing Securities could produce a Mr. Dai and a Zhan Qingze, surely there could be others.

Therefore, Dongxing Securities is responsible!

But not for the 20 billion loss. It’s responsible for its lack of internal oversight, leading to investors’ massive losses four times.

Because you’ve been unprepared four times in a row, what happened to the investors’ money at the end?

Even if you catch Zhan Qingze this time, can he cough up the 20 billion?

Obviously not!

Now, the jury’s opinion of Qian Moli and the others has changed.

Should Dongxing Securities assume responsibility?

This question is now worth considering.

"Objection, the prosecution is blurring the lines!"

Lawyer Sun was the first to become restless and stood up to interrupt, guided by his master’s gaze.

"My client’s company has cooperated fully and diligently with the Financial Bureau’s investigation regarding this investment loss and the previous three, and Ms. Qian has strongly condemned the irregular actions of Dai Someone, Lei Someone, Wu Mo, and others..."

"Yes, you talk a good game. But in the end, not a cent is recovered, and you’re ready to tamper with customers’ money again next time, right?"

Zhang Wei, standing aside, started talking in a sarcastic tone.

"You..."

"Both of you, silence!"

Seeing Lawyer Sun about to explode, Judge Ni finally lost patience and firmly rapped the gavel.

The courtroom fell silent once more, but the thoughts of the jury and the audience wouldn’t cease.

"Lawyer Zhang, were your recent questions well considered?"

"Yes, Judge Ni, think about it. If Dongxing Securities had really taken warning, wouldn’t Old Wang and Old Li have avoided being duped?"

Upon hearing this, Judge Ni felt pressure building up.

Nice going!

You little bastard really are nice going!

Aiming to blackmail me with Old Wang and Old Li?

"Right, Lawyer Zhang, you are absolutely correct!"

Judge Ni said this almost through gritted teeth.

But then he looked towards Lawyer Sun, towards Qian Moli in the defendant’s seat, and uttered four chilling words.

"Objection overruled!"

Sun Kongwen sat down sullenly, his face brimming with defiance.

Master Tang and Qian Moli both had a gloomy look on their faces.

But they had no choice, after all, Ni Qiuping had spoken.

"Lawyer Zhang, would you like to continue your questioning?"

"Of course, I have one final question that hasn’t been clarified."

Zhang Wei said, walking up to the witness stand.

"Secretary Zhu, I’d like to ask you, after Mr. Dai’s case 10 years ago, did Dongxing Securities take any preventive measures? Did you conduct qualification reviews of your employees? Did you self-inspect the internal operating norms? Did you..."

Zhang Wei mentioned it was a single question, yet he asked several in succession.

"Yes, we did all of that!"

Secretary Zhu didn’t dare deny it, or else wouldn’t that be telling everyone that despite our company having problems and losing investors’ money, we didn’t change a thing?

"You did all that, huh? So why was the amount involved in Lei’s case the second time even larger?"

"Ah, this..."

Secretary Zhu was rendered speechless.

"And the third case with Wu Mo, how did the amount involved multiply by several times more?"

"This..."

"Today’s trial involves a case with a direct sum of 20 billion, and this money was taken right under your eyes at Dongxing Securities by a junior employee of your company?"

Secretary Zhu dared not speak anymore, even bowing her head, unable to lift it up.

"Secretary Zhu, am I to assume that your so-called preventive measures were all bark and no bite, and that in fact, you did nothing at all?"

"Actually, President Qian did implement a lot of preventive measures, she..."

"But what about the results?"

Zhang Wei’s casual retort left Secretary Zhu without a response.

In fact, Zhang Wei knew she couldn’t answer the question.

Because the ones who truly embezzled the 20 billion were Qian Moli and the mastermind behind Dongxing Securities, the legendary Lord Tiger.

The two of them embezzled on their own while letting their subordinates take the blame. When the case was adjudicated, the employee was ordered to compensate for all the losses, but they never even saw a trace of that money, so how could they possibly repay it?

The real thieves were insiders, and moreover, the boss. How are you supposed to guard against that?

Guard against yourself?

"Secretary Zhu, what’s the matter, you can’t speak anymore?"

Zhang Wei watched coldly as the woman on the witness stand lowered her head, completely silenced.

"It’s fine if you can’t answer, since the so-called effectiveness of the preventive measures is clear to us all, and facts have proven as much."

Zhang Wei chuckled smugly, looking towards the bench.

"Judge Ni, I have no further questions for this witness!"

As he stepped down from the stand, Ni Qiuping naturally turned her gaze towards the defendant’s seat.

At this moment, Qian Moli’s eyes were filled with venomous resentment toward Zhang Wei, and Master Tang’s face was also frightfully dark.

"President Qian, given the current situation, we need to call a heavyweight witness to turn things around!"

Master Tang analyzed the situation, but things did not look promising.

"A heavyweight witness? Who?"

Qian Moli looked at Master Tang, only to realize that he was looking back at her.

"Me?"

She hadn’t expected Master Tang to actually want her to take the stand.

"Master Tang, are you asking me to go up to the witness seat so that the jury can judge me like I’m an idiot?"

Qian Moli’s tone carried a trace of dissatisfaction.

For someone like her to sit in the witness stand, to be scrutinized by the jury and the gallery, and to respond to the tricky questions posed by the prosecution, wouldn’t that be as disgusting as eating a fly?

"Indeed, that’s exactly what I mean."

Unexpectedly, Master Tang actually admitted it.

"President Qian, the situation is very dire now. You need to consider Dongxing Securities. If we lose our reputation here, there’s no going back!"

"Besides, President Qian, you need to understand your place. Do you think it’s to whose credit that you were able to become the Executive President and earn us the right to address you as ’President Qian’? Whose efforts and face value?"

Master Tang spoke with a hint of threat in his voice.

It was only then that Qian Moli remembered whose person she was.

Lord Tiger’s person!

She was Lord Tiger’s woman, but not his only woman.

And Master Tang was Lord Tiger’s military advisor, and the only one at that, deeply trusted by Lord Tiger.

If she didn’t cooperate, damaging Dongxing Securities’ reputation, then she would be causing Lord Tiger’s wealth to suffer losses.

When that time came, if Lord Tiger was displeased, the consequences would be...

"Master Tang, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been willful. For Lord Tiger, I can testify in court!"

Qian Moli finally gave in and hastily apologized to Master Tang.

"Miss Qian does understand the bigger picture!"

Master Tang said, nodding at his disciple.

"Judge Ni, our side calls Miss Qian Moli to testify in court!"

Upon this statement, the whole courtroom was astounded.

No one expected the defense’s second witness to be so influential.

Dongxing Securities’ Miss Qian was actually willing to testify in court.

"Oh, an influential person?"

Zhang Wei was also surprised.

He had thought with so many witnesses from Dongxing Securities, the other side would casually throw in an expert witness, but he never expected them to send Qian Moli directly.

Now that was truly interesting!

At the defendant’s seat, Master Tang was giving Qian Moli her final instructions.

"Miss Qian, don’t worry. Zhang Wei won’t be able to question you successfully because he lacks the key evidence that directly links you with the 20 billion. So, you can deny all the accusations from that young man!"

"I understand, Master Tang."

Qian Moli stepped up to the witness stand, then calmly took her seat, her face serene.

"Miss Qian, hello."

"Hello, Lawyer Sun."

After exchanging greetings, Sun Kongwen began his questioning.

"Miss Qian, just now the plaintiff’s side—that is, Lawyer Zhang—seems to have conducted quite a rigorous questioning of your secretary, right?"

"It was obvious." Qian Moli chuckled, her complexion unchanged.

"Then may I ask, the so-called accusations by Lawyer Zhang from the plaintiff’s side—are they true?"

"Of course not!"

"Oh, Miss Qian, could you please elaborate?"

Qian Moli took a deep breath and explained, "After the first case arose, I established a professional risk insurance department for the company and initiated qualification reviews, conducting stringent background checks on the company’s traders."

"After the second case involving Lei, I undertook radical reforms in the company, subdividing into more departments and establishing new rules and regulations, allowing traders and brokers to supervise and review each other."

"Later on, I spared no expense to import security and log-in systems from abroad, delineated work areas, and permission systems for different functional departments, to ensure that all company operations were compliant and legal."

"In fact, if I had done nothing, facing investors’ millions or even tens of millions of funds, how many traders could resist temptation? Over the years, there would have been more than just these few cases."

Sun Kongwen agreed with Qian Moli’s statement and even nodded earnestly.

"Indeed, as you said, Miss Qian, after the case from 10 years ago, you reformed Dongxing Securities, so it was not until six years ago that Lei’s case occurred."

"After that, you upgraded the company system, added more functional departments, and arranged for intra-departmental supervision and review, leading to only a few years later the case involving Wu Mo."

"And then there was peace for a long while until this year’s shocking case with Zhan Qingze arose. One must admit, Miss Qian, you have indeed made a lot of efforts."

"Despite the many measures I took, as the saying goes, ’for every measure there is a countermeasure.’ We guard against problems, but some criminals specifically target our vulnerabilities."

Qian Moli agreed deeply but showed a helpless expression, "The case from 10 years ago involved Dai Someone embezzling funds, then there was Lei’s fictitious investment accounts, Wu Mo’s overseas investments, and the recent case of Zhan Qingze manipulating high-risk stocks through fraud. Haven’t you noticed, the methods of these fraudsters are increasingly sophisticated?"

"Miss Qian, are you saying that despite the human and financial resources you’ve expended to initiate change, you still couldn’t completely prevent these people from scheming?"

"Yes."

As Qian Moli spoke, she also put on a very sad demeanor, stealthily wiping away a few tears.

The jury and spectators in the courtroom were moved to sympathy at this sight.

Indeed!

Even if your security measures continuously improve, the trickery of swindlers also advances.

Decades ago, swindlers used traditional methods, employing tools to commit their crimes.

But now, swindlers just need to sit in an office, make a few calls, and have you wire money to them from thousands of miles away.

That’s how times change, and so do the methods of swindlers.

Noticing the jury’s shifting attitude, Sun Kongwen knew it was about time.

"Miss Qian, I think after your statement just now, everyone should understand your difficulties, so my questioning is over," he declared.

Sun Kongwen returned to the defendant’s bench, and now it was Zhang Wei’s turn to begin his cross-examination.

Zhang Wei strolled leisurely into the courtroom and made his way to Qian Moli, step by step.

"Mr. Qian, hello there."

"Hello, Lawyer Zhang."

Though Qian Moli was greeting him, her tone was utterly devoid of emotion.

"Mr. Qian, to be honest, I do admire you somewhat. For someone so young to have reached the position of CEO at Dongxing Securities, your achievements certainly surpass those of the average person."

"Yes, I relied on my own efforts. Without any background or patrons to help, I climbed to where I am today, step by step. Only heaven knows how much hardship I’ve endured."

"Indeed, no background, no support, solely on your own, right?"

Zhang Wei smiled and then asked, "Mr. Qian, as the top private securities firm owner of Dongfang Capital, with a company worth hundreds of billions and a personal net worth of tens of billions, you truly are a person above others, aren’t you?"

"Lawyer Zhang, I know what you’re trying to say, but I am just a common person, the same as everyone else present here."

Qian Moli seemed to guess Zhang Wei’s intention, which was to create a rift between herself and the jury.

She hurriedly interrupted, speaking in a vivid and animated tone, "Actually, I am just an ordinary person. It was only due to a bit of luck and some effort that I have achieved what I have today."

"As long as everyone is willing to sit down and learn quietly, to work hard and improve themselves step by step, they can achieve success just like me."

"Ahem, Mr. Qian, you don’t have to promote your success philosophy here, because we aren’t interested in listening."

Zhang Wei coughed and hastily interrupted.

"In fact, I just have some disagreement with what you just said."

"What exactly do you disagree with?"

"You said you relied on your own efforts to climb to today’s position. Did you really rely on your own efforts?"

"Lawyer Zhang, I don’t understand what you’re talking about!" Qian Moli naturally denied.

However, Zhang Wei was well-prepared; he quickly walked over to the plaintiff’s bench and took several photographs from Xia Qianyue’s hands.

"Mr. Qian, I ask you, you have always prided yourself on being a career-oriented strong woman and have portrayed yourself as such on more than one public occasion, is that correct?"

"Yes!"

"Then may I ask, who is this?"

As he said this, Zhang Wei displayed a photograph on the projection screen.

The photo depicted a beach scene, with a man and woman in swimwear embracing and cuddling on the sand, while several tall bodyguards stood guard nearby.

In the photo, the woman wore sunglasses, but judging from her body shape and facial contours, it was obviously Qian Moli.

"This is...," Qian Moli recognized the man in the photo; wasn’t that Zhang Dihu?

"Mr. Qian, can you tell me who this gentleman beside you is?"

"He is a philanthropist from Dongfang Capital, surnamed Zhang; however, Mr. Zhang and I are just ordinary friends. It happened that we ran into each other at the beach hotel that day!"

"Oh, it just so happened?"

Zhang Wei smiled and then put up several more photos on the projection screen, showing the two in even more intimate poses.

"Ordinary friends can embrace each other so intimately, with such affectionate behavior?"

"You two were practically glued together, he touched you, and you really had no reaction at all, have you become accustomed to it?"

"And this last one, where you’re arm in arm, is that you getting ready to return to the hotel room? Did you perhaps share a room together?"

"This..." Qian Moli was at a loss for words.

Because the truth was indeed as Zhang Wei had described; they did return to the hotel and rest in a shared room that day.

"Mr. Qian, do you know, the man in this photo, there are rumors he is the legendary figure Lord Tiger from the gangs of Dongfang Capital, and his Fierce Tiger Hall is the biggest gang in Dongfang Capital. Do you actually have connections with gang members?"

"Objection, hearsay evidence!"

Just as Zhang Wei had finished speaking, Master Tang couldn’t sit still any longer. Bypassing his own apprentice, he rose to interrupt.

"Judge Ni, Mr. Zhang is a philanthropist from Dongfang Capital, a successful individual with a big heart, yet the prosecutor’s attorney is denigrating him, even slandering him as a gang member. What is the meaning of this?"

"The defense strongly objects to Lawyer Zhang’s remarks and expresses severe condemnation of these unfounded accusations. On behalf of Mr. Qian and all employees of Dongxing Securities, we request that you revoke Lawyer Zhang’s questioning privileges!"

Master Tang was truly angered this time, as the current matter implicated ’that person,’ an unacceptable development.

"This is explosive!" Zhang Wei realized upon seeing this scene, understanding instantly.

He had finally found the right person, provoking an overreaction from Master Tang.

"Lawyer Tang, the court understands," Judge Ni Qiuping nodded, then banged the gavel and declared, "Therefore, the court revokes Zhang Wei’s questioning privilege but only for today, so everyone please go home!"

It was clear Judge Ni Qiuping meant to adjourn.

After all, with the prosecutor’s cross-examination privilege revoked, what was the purpose of the hearing?

Judge Ni Qiuping had shown where her sympathies lay by punishing Zhang Wei while calling a halt to the hearing, taking a step back for both sides.

The court session naturally came to an end.