Tokyo Barrister: Start the law firm bankruptcy

Chapter 948 Battle
Prosecutor Qiu Hui met her gaze with cold eyes and said loudly:

"The defense is misleading the public! Regardless of whether it is a rental or foster care model, it is just a pretext used by the defendant to raise funds. It cannot be determined whether it constitutes illegal fundraising based on the pretext."

"Whether a payment is made as an ant purchase price or as an ant farming deposit is not important. What matters is the actual flow of funds. Essentially, Mountain Lake Capital's business model relies on absorbing funds and generating interest returns to operate."

At this moment, a prosecutor's assistant was already handing materials to Qiu Hui one after another behind her.

Qiu Hui quickly scanned the materials and said, "Just now, the defense attorney said that the deposits paid by more than a thousand citizens were confiscated, and therefore the deposits involved in the case were not considered investment funds. But similarly, there are also victims involved in the case whose funds were still repurchased by Shanhu Capital at a premium even though the ants failed to reproduce successfully!"

Qiu Hui immediately showed the documents in her hand.

All I could see were company files and bank transfer records.

The above does indeed include the results of an on-site inspection of the ants.

The results record clearly states that the ants died.

However, Mountain Lake Capital still paid these farmers a considerable sum of money!

As expected of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office!

After launching a fierce attack in Kitahara, they quickly found a weakness and launched a counterattack.

Yes, if you say this isn't an investment, then why are you still paying the farmers even though the ants are already dead?

The prosecutor's office raised a very important question.

Nishio, a member of Aso's legal team, felt like the sky was falling.

This lawyer, Kitahara, is really going to ruin me!!
How could the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office's chain of evidence be so easily broken by a young man like you?!

This is terrible!

They had initially proposed a counterattack, but now the prosecutor has seized on their weakness.

If you cannot answer this question, it will further solidify the charge of illegal fundraising!

However, the young male lawyer on the defense panel showed no signs of panic.

The expression on his face was frighteningly calm.

It was as if they had anticipated the prosecutor's office's attack strategy.

Kitahara pointed to the company files presented by the prosecutor's office and said, "Prosecutor, please take a closer look at the examples you have presented."

Akihime and the other prosecutors' assistants were all taken aback by Kitahara's response.

They instinctively felt that the lawyer in front of them was bluffing.

The lawyer's unexpected defense of innocence forced them to take the matter seriously once again.

Was there a problem with the materials you just presented?
Qiu Hui and the others immediately began to read.

They glanced around but didn't notice anything unusual.

"Defense attorney, stop beating around the bush!" Qiu Hui's voice was filled with anger again. Bei Yuan pointed to the company files in the case file: "These farmers mentioned by the prosecutor received hundreds of boxes of ants from Shanhu Capital. This is different from ordinary farmers who only receive one or two boxes."

“These hundreds of boxes of ants require specialized facilities and space, and the farmers need to rent the space. Although some ants die during the breeding process, Shanhu Capital is obligated to compensate the farmers for their rental costs.”

"The payments made by Shanhu Capital, as cited by the prosecutor, were actually compensation for the venue rental fees, not a repurchase at a premium!"

Upon hearing that the payment was actually rent, the prosecutors' eyes widened. Looking back at the farmers' contracts, they confirmed that they had indeed applied for hundreds of boxes of ants.

The Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office's offensive was once again thwarted.

“Wait!” Prosecutor Qiu Hui stood up quickly and retorted, “On what basis does the defense attorney say that this is rent, and therefore it is rent?! Even if it is rent, we must examine factors such as the specific location of the venue, the market rent level, and the actual lease duration to determine whether the rent payment is reasonable and genuine!”

"How dare you just say it like that?!" Qiu Hui retorted angrily.

"This is your prosecutor's office's job! It's your prosecutor's office that needs to prove the defendant's guilt, not us who need to prove the defendant's innocence!"

Kitahara forcefully shut down Akie's words.

The heated debate between the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office and Kitahara seemed to spark a fire in the air of the courtroom.

No one expected this—

The debate in this case was surprisingly intense.

Even the very first step—whether the money transferred by the victim was an investment—was the subject of such heated debate.

The judge on the bench listened with particular attention and focus.

Prosecutor Qiu Hui is still not willing to admit defeat.

What a joke!
This lawyer is just spouting sophistry from beginning to end!
Qiu Hui began to speak:

"First, regarding the defense lawyer's claim that over a thousand citizens had their bail money confiscated, these citizens represent a very small percentage of the more than 300,000 victims. Furthermore, the prosecutor's office just reviewed the relevant case files. A significant portion of these citizens whose bail money was confiscated continued to invest in Shanhu Capital, purchasing Ant Group shares. If Shanhu Capital's subsequent promised repurchase at a premium can cover the previously confiscated bail money, then the defendant's actions are essentially still considered fundraising!"

Qiu Hui's voice grew louder and louder.

She clearly sees Kitahara as someone she must defeat in today's trial.

"Furthermore, the defense has repeatedly emphasized that the so-called premium repurchase payment is compensation for the maintenance labor. This view is completely unfounded!!"

Qiu Hui took out a form:
"Based on the premium paid by Shanhu Capital when it repurchased Ant Group, the so-called 'deposits' paid by investors could increase by 200% to 500% in just one year. Is this what you call labor compensation?!"

"What kind of labor income in this world can double or triple in just one year? The defense is completely detached from actual evidence and is engaging in forced sophistry."

Qiu Hui looked at the judge on the platform:

"The defense lawyer's claim that the ant buyback payments constituted remuneration for aquaculture labor is completely unfounded! The compensation paid by Shanhu Capital to the farmers far exceeded normal market returns. This does not conform to the characteristics of remuneration for labor. The defense lawyer's attempt to distort the principal-protected and interest-paying behavior into remuneration for labor is simply misleading!"

"The relationship between Shanhu Capital and the victims cannot be defined as that between an ant provider and an ant farmer! The so-called labor remuneration is just a facade, a pretext! The funds that Shanhu Capital promised to pay to the farmers are obviously excessive and cannot be defined as labor remuneration at all!"

"The defense lawyer's arguments are completely unfounded!!"

(End of this chapter)