Darkstone Code
Chapter 176 - 0174 Low-income population

Chapter 176: 0174 Low-income population

Initially, the reason Gap brought back copies of those original ledgers was to use his spare time to more reasonably revise them.

He didn’t consider it a wrongful criminal act, as the Ristone Group was still one of the most important enterprises in Sabin City, and as an accountant, he was well aware of how crucial the mutually beneficial relationship between businesses and the government was.

It was even possible that City Hall would support an internal revision of Ristone’s ledgers to avoid being implicated in the Henghui Group scandal.

As for the differences in the ledger contents?

That wasn’t an issue; it was just someone attempting to bring down our pillar industry group with vile, despicable means, causing our citizens to lose their jobs, and leaving tens of thousands of families without security.

Not to mention that neither City Hall nor the Mayor would agree to this, and the entire citizenry of Sabin City wouldn’t agree either; this is the value and power of local protectionism.

Those group companies that never lose lawsuits on their own turf and those that never face local charges despite facing various troubles aren’t actually above the law with their owners.

Rather, the value of this group’s continued existence far outweighs the value of their downfall. At least their existence might harm some capitalists, but it’s beneficial and valuable to most ordinary people, so they must exist.

But now the situation is different; both City Hall and the state government are dissatisfied with the group companies, and the original copied ledgers in Gap’s hands, which weren’t really a big issue, became a hot potato.

Rationally speaking, destroying them would be more appropriate. Without those original ledgers, even if problems were found in the group’s accounts, they would require extensive time to repeatedly verify, lengthening the investigation period.

The various legal power applications involved would drag on, causing many people to gradually forget these matters, and it might be possible that the group companies would have relocated by then, with some applications still unapproved.

Yet, there was a voice in Gap’s head telling him that he must keep the ledger, a small habit for a person frequently dealing with numbers to prevent risks.

In case something really went wrong, there always needed to be some backup!

The next day, Vera used her overseas bank account to establish a cross-border settlement account at Shengrong Bank in Sabin City and, under the name of an offshore account, commissioned the bank to open a safety deposit box, accessed through password authentication.

This was a very common service where, in the current international landscape, there is no substantive international currency. Each large region might have a relatively unified currency area, but international settlements still lack a mainstream global currency.

In some cross-border trades, merchants would entrust currency settlement and exchange to a bank qualified for foreign exchange settlements. Although every bank claims to have such qualifications, there are still some discrepancies among them.

Vera registered a corporate account to facilitate handling legal tax evasion maneuvers for herself or clients. In Bail Federal, almost every licensed accountant had a few such channels or accounts.

Thanks to Gap’s relatively successful career and high-level connections, Vera also registered such an offshore account.

Immediately after, she sent the ledgers Gap gave her, along with some unspeakable evidence, to Shengrong Bank for entrusted safekeeping.

The conditions for opening such safety deposit boxes were often unique, requiring some seals, like the torn banknotes often seen in novels and movies, or some nimble little mechanisms.

But mostly it was passwords. As long as one had the correct password, anyone could open the safety deposit box.

Conversely, without the password, no one could easily open these safety deposit boxes, even if everyone knew there might be something illegal inside.

Simply applying to the court for the authority to do so was a long process; the bank’s legal department would try to block the court and the Judge from approving these applications to ensure the privacy and safety of their clients, which is crucial for the bank’s reputation.

After handling all this, Vera came to the office.

The entire finance office had expanded more than double. Apart from her, the head of the finance department, she had recruited about twenty subordinates.

Some of them worked in the office, while others were scattered across different subsidiaries in important roles.

Along the way, no matter how busy people were, they would stop and greet her with smiling faces, giving Vera a unique experience she couldn’t quite articulate, but she was pleased for the recognition of her work and abilities.

Soon after sitting down, she seriously looked over a few documents awaiting her signature placed on her desk, and before she could examine them closely, her secretary knocked on the door.

Every day after she sat down in her office, her secretary, also her alumna and junior, would bring her a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Alumni associations, sororities, and Brotherhoods were relationships that spanned the entire Bail Federal and were considered some of the most reliable connections.

In fact, Vera hadn’t had much contact with this junior before this, nor did she even know her. But when she needed a secretary, her first thought was to reach out to the sorority she joined during her university days.

They recommended this girl to her, and she took her on.

"Put it over there!" she said with a slight smile, looking at the girl with a cautious yet somewhat admiring expression on her face, and her heavy heart lightened a bit.

The girl placed the coffee cup and saucer at the corner of the table and didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she passed on a message that Lynch had stopped by earlier, hoping Vera could come to his office when she had a moment.

Lynch rarely called Vera; whenever he needed something, he’d come over himself. Sometimes, Vera would mention he didn’t have to keep making these trips in person.

On one hand, she thought Lynch constantly visiting her office might lead to unnecessary speculation, and on the other hand, it seemed unnecessary since phone calls were quicker and more convenient.

However, to Vera’s surprise, Lynch countered with a question—"If people always see you going into my office, what would they think?"

"They’d think you gained your current position using your pretty face, perhaps even more... It’s unfair to you."

"But if I come to you, it negates that issue; people would just think I like you. They wouldn’t look at you with those disgusting insinuating eyes."

"We all know there are many injustices in this society, but we’re unable to change them, so we can only try to avoid them as much as possible!"

Were it not for the fact that she was married, older than Lynch by quite a margin, and already had children, Vera might actually consider Lynch.

At the very least, he understood how to respect women and consider her feelings, something Vera had never experienced before, something quite rare in society!

A young man who knew how to endear himself to others, making it hard not to like him, albeit in a simple, pure way.

Vera nodded reservedly, tasted the coffee after the secretary left, glanced at the documents, and then stood up to head towards Lynch’s office.

They were now leasing an office from a finance company that had been dissolved for violating some regulations. This office would undergo a judicial auction after all illegal activities were resolved.

In the meantime, Lynch rented it.

Not long after, Vera appeared in Lynch’s office. Some girls there still gave her strange looks, siding with Vera as if standing against a common foe—this should be considered workplace harassment.

Yet some sided with Lynch, resentful that he didn’t notice other girls, wondering why he liked someone with kids.

Upon entering, Vera habitually closed the office door and comfortably sat in the chair opposite Lynch, without any of the unease typical when a subordinate meets with a superior.

She even joked, "Didn’t you see the expressions on those girls’ faces when I walked into your room just now? They surely wish it was them coming in here instead of me."

Lynch chuckled, avoiding the topic that could lead both sides into awkwardness.

"I’ve already wrapped up the collaboration details with investors over in Curilan, and their funds will soon be in place. Then, I would need you to handle my personal assets."

Lynch simply sold his shares at a mutually agreed suitable price to the other party, so these funds weren’t reflected in the company’s accounts but rather as his personal income.

Of course, this portion of the profit was taxable, and Vera also managed Lynch’s personal financial affairs.

She nodded, noted it down, and casually asked, "Do you need tax avoidance measures implemented?"

Lynch furrowed his brow, exhaled, "Just standard procedures, no need for extreme tax avoidance. We can’t pay too much, but also shouldn’t pay too little."

There are many ways to avoid taxes. The Federation employs both the proportionate and threshold-based systems, granting exemptions based on a percentage and offering certain allowances; the latter is more common, but the former is more practical.

According to the Federal Tax Bureau, individuals like Lynch earning over fifty thousand dollars monthly must pay no less than fifty-five percent in various taxes. But in reality, such individuals often pay lamentably little in taxes.

If handled well, utilizing some flawed legal regulations, Lynch might not even have to pay taxes, claiming his income was "zero."