A congressional investigation found that Wall Street used billions of dollars of American retirement savings and other investments to buy shares in index funds that included several blacklisted Chinese companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The probe, conducted by a bipartisan House committee empowered to devise strategies for the US to counter China, focused on the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, headed by Larry Fink, and index provider MSCI, the report said.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party concluded that through investments in index funds, American financial institutions funneled $6.5 billion last year to some 63 Chinese companies flagged by the US, the report said.
Ed Gen reports that BlackRock is under investigation for several reasons, including valuations, fraud, and antitrust violations related to the infamous ESG woke strategies.
There are concerns about transparency, and a probe is underway into the BlackRock Coffee Bar for fraud and violations of federal security laws. The potential fraud involves loans backed by fake receivables.
This is part of a broader scrutiny of asset management firms related to climate investments.
The BlackRock Coffee Bar
The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP is investigating potential claims against BlackRock Coffee Bar, Inc. (“Black Rock Coffee” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BRCB). The investigation concerns whether the company and/or members of its senior management may have violated federal securities laws or engaged in other unlawful business practices.
On September 12, 2025, Black Rock Coffee conducted its initial public offering (“IPO”), selling 14.71 million shares priced at $20.00 per share.
Then, on May 12, 2026, Black Rock Coffee issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2026. Among other items, Black Rock Coffee reported GAAP earnings per share of $0.02 and revenue of $55.5 million, both missing consensus estimates. The Company also addressed the impact of new store openings on existing store sales, particularly in Phoenix.
“As we densify markets, there’s probably some level of sales transfer, especially in, call it, Phoenix …[i]n terms of sales transfer about 160 basis points, about 130 of transaction. Really, when you look at Phoenix as a whole … it is one of our higher volume markets, our most penetrated market … [t]hey were within five miles of some existing stores.” The Company said the first quarter was when the impact first became measurable. On this news, the price of Black Rock Coffee shares declined by $3.32 per share, or approximately 30%, from $10.97 per share on May 12, 2026, to close at $7.65 on May 13, 2026.
About ESG
Larry Fink said the term “ESG” was politically weaponized, but critics would say ESG weaponized climate.
This is how ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance] looks to critics:
ESG is a nightmare. It’s bad for business. This is the best, simplest explanation for what ESG is under a minute. pic.twitter.com/bossovbk75
— Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) September 5, 2022
ESG is a globalist woke concept. Asset firms have moved away from using the term, but they are still woke. There has been some serious greenwashing in the name of ESG. An investigation is a good idea.