The Clinton Foundation was on the receiving end of $2 million from a Chinese company that has spent millions lobbying the State Department and Congress, according to a CBS News report.
Rilin Enterprises, a construction company run by a billionaire who serves as a delegate to the Chinese parliament, has won major contracts from the Chinese government.
One donor—Rilin Enterprises—pledged $2 million in 2013 to the Clinton Foundation's endowment. The company is a privately-held Chinese construction and trade conglomerate and run by billionaire Wang Wenliang, who is also a delegate to the Chinese parliament. Public records show the firm has spent $1.4 million since 2012, lobbying Congress and the State Department. The firm owns a strategic port along the border with North Korea and was also one of the contractors that built the Chinese embassy in Washington.
That contract is a direct tie to the Chinese government, according to Jim Mann, who has written several books on China's relationship with the U.S.
With "embassy construction, one of the most important tasks is making sure that there are no bugs there," he said. "So you want to have the closest security and intelligence connections with and approval of the person or company that's going to build your embassy."
The company, which does extensive work in the United States, has also been cited for putting its workers in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
Rilin, however, has a history of complaints since 2001 regarding its treatment of embassy construction workers. Documents obtained by CBS News show Rilin was cited in 2011 and 2013 by officials in Jersey City, New Jersey, for housing workers in unsafe, crowded, and unsanitary conditions. The company settled the 2011 violations for $6,066 and says all the charges related to the 2013 inspection were dismissed.