Chinese-linked company sues farmers over land sale near Air Force base.
A Company Linked to Communist China Sues Farmers Over Land Purchase
In a controversial move, a company suspected of having ties to Communist China has filed a lawsuit against farmers near a California Air Force base. The company, Flannery Associates, has acquired over 50,000 acres of land around Travis Air Force base, spending approximately $800 million. Now, they are seeking $510 million from farmers, accusing them of inflating the sale price through a secret conspiracy.
“It’s a suit designed to force the farmers to lawyer up, spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyering and maybe at the end of the day, bankrupt themselves,” said California Democrat John Garamendi, who has been critical of the land acquisitions.
Garamendi has spoken with farmers who claim they did not want to sell their land, raising suspicions of illicit activities. The Air Force’s Foreign Investment Risk Review Office has been investigating the purchases for eight months but has been unable to confirm the source of funding for Flannery Associates.
“We don’t know who Flannery is, and their extensive purchases do not make sense to anybody in the area,” Garamendi expressed concern.
The situation has also raised questions about national security, as Flannery Associates has acquired land surrounding three sides of the Travis Air Force Base. Garamendi and others suspect that Chinese money may be involved, given previous instances of Chinese investment near military bases.
“Nobody can figure out who they are,” stated Ronald Kott, mayor of Rio Vista, a town mostly surrounded by land purchased by Flannery Associates. “Whatever they’re doing — this looks like a very long-term play.”
Chinese Investment Blocked Near North Dakota Military Base
This is not the first time concerns have been raised about Chinese investment near military bases. In North Dakota, the Grand Forks City Council voted unanimously to block a Chinese food producer, Fufeng Group, from building a corn mill just 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The proposed $700 million plant would have created jobs but raised significant national security concerns.
“The proposed project represents a significant threat to national security with both near and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area,” warned U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary Andrew P. Hunter.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) considered the acquisition filing by Fufeng Group but concluded that it did not have jurisdiction. However, the Department of Defense expressed clear concerns about the project’s potential impact on national security.
“With regard to Fufeng, if you’re going to strategically decouple, that means we don’t want their investment,” said Senator Kevin Cramer.
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