Chapter 6

On the last day of June, the Germans defeated the Czechs and lifted the European Cup right at the doorstep of the English. However, this was not the most shocking news on the front pages of the newspapers on July 1st.

"…A mysterious person correctly predicted all the match scores of the European Championship, winning nearly 300 million pounds in prize money…"

"…The betting groups are discussing the revision of betting rules, and the next major tournament will not accept anonymous account bets…"

"…289 million pounds have been transferred to the mysterious person's anonymous account, with the prize money accounting for nearly 20% of the total profits of the betting groups…"

As the news broke, the gambling fans were all agitated. Within half a day, the story of someone winning 300 million pounds through the European Championship had spread throughout Western Europe, making it common knowledge.

At this moment, Ferren, still staying at a hotel, muttered after checking his accounts: "They took 15% of my winnings for taxes, that's too harsh. The current tax rate is only 12%."

In fact, the betting tax rate varied with each British government. By the early 2000s, the betting tax in the UK had indeed risen to 15%, leading many large betting companies to form offshore companies to avoid paying taxes to the British Prime Minister.

"Ah, forget it!" Ferren shook his head with a half-smile. "It was just an experiment, and I didn't expect to win all the matches. It's time to apply for immigration… Dad, Mom, are you two doing well?"

After making up his mind, Ferren, who originally planned to go to France to collect the black money, immediately transferred the large sum of prize money from his anonymous account to an offshore company he had set up under a fake identity in mid-June. He then transferred the money into three stock accounts he had opened in advance. After trading some low-volatility, high-volume stocks in the stock market, the funds were eventually transferred to several other anonymous accounts.

After sorting everything out, Ferren finally appeared as a British citizen and flew to Zurich. He found a reliable Swiss bank, opened an account under his real name, and deposited 200,000 Swiss francs, which he had obtained from various underground black markets with nearly a million pounds of black money. He also used 100,000 Swiss francs to acquire a small watch company in Zurich that had its own brand but was on the verge of bankruptcy.

With the remaining 100,000 Swiss francs and the real-name Swiss bank account, Ferren set up two watch distribution companies in Hungary.

The final step was for Ferren to disguise himself as a purchasing agent and find a small but legitimate proxy company in Austria. Using a random passerby's ID, he signed a contract with the company, which stipulated a commission of 95 pounds per transaction for them to order watches from the two Hungarian distribution companies.

This seemed like a no-lose deal, and the general manager of the proxy company raised this point during the contract signing. Ferren explained that due to the lower tax rates in Austria and Hungary, he wanted to use this method to import a batch of high-end watches, and assured them that they would not lose money, only asking them to keep the matter confidential.

Knowing that there were many similar proxy companies in the area, the manager did not dare to raise the price and quickly signed the contract.

Before leaving, Ferren obtained the company's business account and instructed them: "Your company only needs to place orders for high-end watches with them. I have already smoothed things over on their end, so there's no need to specify the watch specifications. The payment for the watches will be processed through your company's account, and for each transaction, 95 pounds will be left for you. Rest assured!"

As Ferren had predicted, over the next month, 10,000 transactions for buying watches were processed from several anonymous accounts through the company's account and then transferred out. By the end of the month, the company had earned 950,000 pounds, making the general manager extremely happy.

Unbeknownst to them, Ferren had used these 10,000 transactions to transfer the large sum of prize money into his real-name Swiss bank account, losing only 950,000 pounds and 10,000 high-end electronic watches, each priced at only 5 pounds.

This money laundering and whitewashing cost Ferren tens of millions of pounds, but his Swiss bank account still held 250 million pounds, enough to support him for the rest of his life. The Swiss bank even called to inform him that he had been upgraded to a top-tier VIP client.

With top-tier VIP privileges, Ferren immediately opened three more Swiss bank accounts, which were anonymous accounts specifically provided for top-tier VIPs. He transferred 50 million pounds into each of the three accounts and marveled at how different banks had such varying conditions for opening anonymous accounts, with some allowing individuals to open them and others requiring VIP status.

Back in England, Ferren, using his "former" British identity and the asset proof provided by the Swiss bank, applied for immigration to Hong Kong. Although the mainland was secretly monitoring the identities of immigrants to Hong Kong as the handover approached, Ferren's application was quickly approved, and by early August, he had received the written notification from the Hong Kong government.

By early September, Ferren packed his few belongings and flew to Hong Kong. He obtained the local ID card from the relevant authorities and settled in. Eagerly, he went to apply for the police force.

However, when filling out the application form, Ferren was taken aback because he had no academic credentials, and the same was true for the assassin "Ferren." More importantly, even if he started police training now, he would not be able to join the force until after the handover on July 1st, and it would be difficult to go to the mainland as a Royal Police officer.

Moreover, even if he returned to the mainland and found his parents, they were not the type to welcome strangers. He needed a legitimate reason to get close to them. After much thought, Ferren realized that the only opportunity would be when his family returned to their hometown of Andong in 2001, and he could approach them as a legitimate police officer.

After sorting out these details, Ferren decided to go abroad for university and return a few years later with a high degree to directly apply for a position as a police inspector (trainee). He would then wait for the opportunity in 2001 to "return to his roots"!

As for which country to study in, Ferren considered for a long time and concluded that only the United States was suitable. Since he had no academic background, he could only use money to gain entry to a university, and the United States, with its lobbying system, was the most convenient.

Lobbying exists at all levels in the United States, even the Oscar winners can be lobbied. As a symbol of the traditional humanistic spirit of the American academic world and a cradle of presidents, Harvard University naturally also follows this practice. If a lobbying company could convince the Harvard Board of Trustees that Ferren would donate a large sum of money to the university after graduation, his admission would be almost guaranteed, provided he passed a pre-admission test.

Even the pre-admission test could be influenced by the lobbying company if Ferren was willing to pay. Therefore, Ferren contacted Abramoff the next day.

At this time, the "godfather" of the lobbying industry, Abramoff, was just beginning to rise in Washington. Initially, he was very reluctant to take on such a small task as helping Ferren with his admission, but when Ferren offered him 2 million pounds, he immediately replied, "Deal, just wait for my good news!"

"I'll transfer half the fee to you first, and I'll pay the remaining amount once I get the confirmation," Ferren said humorously over the phone.

"No problem!"

However, after the payment was made, it took four to five months before Abramoff finally called back in February 1997, saying, "Please come to the U.S. for the admission interview in early June this year."

Fortunately, Ferren had not been idle during these months. He absorbed two light orbs from the hidden ring, gaining "Mastery and Experience in Social Skills" and "Mastery and Experience in Financial Knowledge." Later, he met Li Zhe Kai, the youngest son of the city's richest man, Li Chao Ren, at a charity dinner. Despite the ten-year age gap, they hit it off and quickly became close friends.

When Abramoff called, Ferren was drinking tea in Li Zhe Kai's office. Seeing him hang up his mobile phone, Li Zhe Kai complained, "Ferren, I've heard you have a lot of spare cash. Why won't you lend me some?"

Ferren laughed, "You and Li are short of money? If you're really in a bind, you could use the shares of Pacific Century, which is listed in the U.S., to raise some funds. Or you could get a loan from the bank."

Li Zhe Kai shook his head, "Brother, to be honest, I can't touch the U.S. side. I'm planning to list Pacific Century in Hong Kong, so its performance can't have any issues. As for the banks, they are all in a wait-and-see mode right now. A small loan is fine, but a large one is out of the question."

Ferren thought for a moment, "How much do you need?"

"Ten billion Hong Kong dollars, can you lend it to me?" Li Zhe Kai added, "Just for three months, and I'll pay you the bank interest plus an additional two points."

Ferren waved his hand, "I don't want interest, and I won't ask for the money back. But by May 25th, you must have 250 million U.S. dollars in your account for me to use in the Southeast Asian financial market for three months. If you agree, we'll sign a contract."

Li Zhe Kai hesitated, calculated the time, and then smiled, "250 million U.S. dollars, about 1.9 billion Hong Kong dollars. Ferren, you're really fair! I just want to ask, what do you plan to do with such a large sum of money?"

Ferren grinned, "The Buddha says, 'Do not speak, do not speak.' Brother Li, don't ask too many questions. But I need to use your family's name to do this."

"I need to ask my father about this."

Two days later, on the day after the Lantern Festival, Li Zhe Kai and Ferren signed the loan contract in the presence of a team of lawyers. The contract clearly stated the loan amount, the loan period, and the temporary pledge of Pacific Century shares. On Ferren's side, it was specified that he could use the 250 million U.S. dollars as he pleased, but the financial loss limit was set at 120 million.

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