China Blocks Wells Fargo Banker from Leaving the Country

A Wells Fargo banker has been blocked from leaving China due to a criminal matter. That’s according to the country’s foreign ministry.

A ministry spokesman told a press briefing in Beijing on Monday that Chenyue Mao is involved in a criminal case currently being handled by Chinese law-enforcement authorities and is subject to exit restrictions in accordance with the law.

It is not known when the ban was imposed, or the exact nature of the case.

In the wake of the ban, the bank – which has had one branch in Shanghai since 2005 and another in Beijing since 2015 – decided to suspend all travel to China, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

Wells Fargo said on Friday it was working through the appropriate channels to secure Ms Mao’s return, but did not release any details as to why the US citizen had been prevented from leaving the country.

Ms Mao – a managing director at the bank – has been with Wells Fargo for more than 13 years, according to her LinkedIn profile.