Chinese solar inverter company manager accused of offering bribe to secure approvals, refused bail

A senior manager at Chinese solar and battery inverter company Growatt New Energy has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of offering a $20,000 bribe to secure approval for its products.

Guoxin Zhu, 39, was arrested last week, according to police and local media, and appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday and will appear in court again in two weeks.

Zhu, identified by multiple media reports as a manager with Growatt, was arrested while trying to board an international flight in Sydney on July 24, according to the Queensland Police Service (QPS). 

He is alleged to have tried to bribe “a Commonwealth public official” during a business meeting in Camp Hill, Brisbane in an attempt to fast track product approvals by the peak body.

The official, who according to media reports works for the Clean Energy Council, reported the alleged bribery immediately. 

A statement from the Clean Energy Council sent to Renew Economy on Wednesday said it “recently became aware of an incident connected with its Approved Products Program.”

“Every application to the program is assessed against the same requirements and processes,” the statement said.

The Queensland police, alongside the AFP and the National Anti-Corruption Commission set up a two week sting called Operation Yankee Borderlands before arresting the man, a QPS statement said last week.

Zhu was charged with offering a secret commission to an agent, extradited to Queensland where he appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on July 27 with a request for bail. 

According to local media, Zhu offered to surrender his passport and report to police. But the offer was denied on the grounds of the strong evidence backing the charges and potential risk the Chinese national would try to flee the country if released. 

The Shenzhen-based solar inverter and battery company Growatt is making its third attempt to list on the Hong Kong Exchange and presumably will have to tell prospective investors about the allegations.

The company issued its prospectus in June with the books showing healthy revenues, a lot of cash, minimal debt, and annual profits, albeit volatile, bolstered by battery demand as its solar inverter business continued to slow.

Note: The story has been updated to make clear that Growatt specialises in solar and battery inverters.

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