A major scandal has erupted involving Country Garden, one of China's largest real estate developers, following allegations from employees at its Sydney operations.

According to foreign media reports, Country Garden employees have come forward with explosive claims about the company's Australian operations. During a senior management meeting on July 10, Chen Binghong, Country Garden's head of Australian operations, allegedly stated that the company could easily obtain any employee's WeChat chat records by simply "paying bribes" to government officials.

After discovering that someone had reported this incident under Australia's whistleblower protection laws, Chen reportedly began conducting one-on-one meetings with employees to identify the "leaker" and threatened to dismiss relevant personnel. The company also engaged Amberlake Law Firm to investigate the matter, but the law firm terminated its cooperation with Country Garden within two weeks.

According to previous media reports, Chen Binghong previously served as Country Garden's Regional President for Malaysia and Singapore in 2023.

Public records show that Country Garden entered the Australian market in 2013, focusing on residential project development in Sydney and Melbourne with approximately 11-50 employees. Despite its relatively small scale in Australia, its parent company ranks among China's largest real estate developers, placing 206th on Fortune's Global 500 list in 2023, with a peak market value of $29.84 billion in 2018.

However, Country Garden has frequently made headlines in recent years due to debt crises and project delays. Notable issues include failing to pay $15 million in bond interest in 2023 and facing $1.41 billion in debt restructuring pressure in 2024.

In January 2024, to alleviate debt pressure, Country Garden's Australian subsidiary Risland Australia sold its last Australian project for $1.1 billion, effectively ending Country Garden's operations in Australia.

Country Garden maintains extensive overseas operations. According to a January 9 announcement this year, as of December 31, 2023, Country Garden controlled over 3,000 development projects with saleable area between 90-92 million square meters. This includes more than 2,900 domestic projects and 29 overseas projects spanning Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, the United States, India, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, along with approximately 1.3-1.4 million parking spaces available for sale.

According to foreign media reports, the matter has been reported to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), though it remains unclear whether a formal investigation has been launched.