The Chinese account statement had all the trappings of the real thing: a red oval seal bearing Bank of Jiangsu Co.’s name, a balance printed to the last decimal (852,468,304.56 yuan) and a time stamp of 4:14 p.m. on April 25.
Provided by a little-known Chinese investor group during early-stage acquisition talks with AC Milan, the document was among paperwork purporting to show the consortium’s ability to buy Silvio Berlusconi’s storied Italian soccer club, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The only problem? The statement wasn’t true, according to Bank of Jiangsu. The lender told Bloomberg News last month that it hadn’t issued any such record. The consortium, known as Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co., said in a Sept. 20 e-mail that it “does not confirm it has ever sent such a document.”
