China has released all Mintz employees who had been held in detention for two years since a raid on its Beijing office in March 2023, a spokesperson from the US-based due diligence firm Mintz Group told Reuters in an email.

Chinese authorities detained five local staff in the raid, which turned out to be the beginning of a sweeping crackdown on consultancy and due diligence firms, including Bain & Company’s office in Shanghai and Capvision Partners.

A general view shows traffic during evening rush hour at the central business district (CBD) in Beijing, China, January 15, 2021. Picture taken January 15, 2021.

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Foreign business lobbies said at the time the crackdown damaged investor confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.

“We are grateful to the Chinese authorities that our former colleagues can now be home with their families,” said a Mintz spokesperson.

Reuters reported in May 2023, citing sources, that Mintz had engaged in corporate due diligence work examining the possible use of forced labor in supply chains linked to China’s Xinjiang region.

Mintz has 12 offices around the world and more than 280 investigators, according to its website.

This is a developing story.