(Beijing) Five Chinese employees of the Beijing office of the American audit firm Mintz Group have been arrested by Chinese authorities, the group said on Friday.

“Chinese authorities have arrested the five employees of Mintz Group’s Beijing office, all Chinese nationals, and closed our operations there,” the company said in a statement to AFP.

The company says it “has not received official notice of any legal proceedings” against it, and has “asked the authorities to release its employees.”

She says she hired lawyers to “dialogue with the authorities and help (her) employees and their families”.

“We have always worked transparently, ethically and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations” in China, the company said, adding that it would work with authorities to “resolve any misunderstandings that may have led to these events.”

On Friday, AFP journalists found that its premises in Beijing were empty, its doors blocked with chains.

Police offices in the area declined to respond to AFP. The Chinese Foreign Ministry told him that it was not aware of this information.

Mintz Group, headquartered in New York, is a firm specializing in the investigation of allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in the workplace, as well as background checks.

It has 18 offices in total, including in Washington. On its site, Mintz Group states that its employees “dig deep into the issues that concern our customers – from the presidential palace to the offshore oil rig”.

In 2017, director of the group’s Asia branch, Randal Phillips, felt that the United States should address the problems of structural imbalances caused by Chinese policies and penalizing trade.

A Mintz Group webpage then headlined, “China Must Face Consequences,” with quotes from Mr. Phillips. It appears to have been removed, although archived versions remain available online.

According to US government documents also available online, Randal Phillips testified before the release in 2018 of a report by a US congressional committee focused on Chinese attempts to expand its influence overseas.

On the Mintz Group website, Mr. Phillips is described as a former CIA employee where he worked for 28 years, “most recently as the CIA’s chief representative in China.”

The arrests come at a time when US-China relations are at their lowest in decades, with the world’s two biggest powers clashing on everything from trade to human rights.

Tensions rose further in February when Washington shot down a suspected spy balloon, which Beijing continues to call a weather device.