{"id":222407,"date":"2026-05-06T20:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T20:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222407\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T20:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T20:29:16","slug":"ex-nyc-comptroller-brad-lander-increased-pension-funds-in-7-chinese-companies-linked-to-forced-labor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222407\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NYC Comptroller Brad Lander increased pension funds in 7 Chinese companies linked to forced labor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven Chinese companies blacklisted by the US for engaging in horrific forced labor practices saw a multimillion-dollar boost in investments from New York City\u2019s pension funds during ex-city Comptroller Brad Lander\u2019s tenure, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

Lander \u2014 who is running in the Democratic House primary to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman \u2014 oversaw increasing the city\u2019s investments in the companies even after they were sanctioned under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s investment in the firms on the UFLPA list skyrocketed from $4.8 million in 2022, when Lander took office, to $11.1 million by the end of his term in 2025, public records show.<\/p>\n

Congressional candidate Brad Lander increased pension funds in seven companies linked to forced labor practices. REUTERS<\/p>\n

The UFLPA bans imports from businesses whose goods are believed to have been made using the forced labor of Uyghurs and other oppressed ethnic minorities in China\u2019s western Xinjiang region.<\/p>\n

While investments aren\u2019t banned, Lander has claimed his role as comptroller \u2014 managing about $290 billion in assets for five public pension funds \u2014 centered around ethics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said in a recent interview with the New York Editorial Board<\/a> that he worked to support \u201cworkers\u2019 rights at many of the companies we invested in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time Lander has come under fire for the city pensions fiscal moves. <\/p>\n

His office\u2019s decision to end investments in all Israel bonds<\/a> in 2023 sparked fierce blowback from the Jewish community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ex-comptroller was also scrutinized earlier this year, when it was revealed his office expanded pension investments in Palantir Technologies \u2014 a data analytics company used by ICE immigration enforcement \u2014 despite his outspoken opposition to the group, amNewYork first reported.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Lander Is campaigning to unseat Democrat Dan Goldman in New York\u2019s 10th District. Farhad Parsa\/ZUMA \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

\u201cOur work wasn\u2019t just about spreadsheets and budgets. It was about ensuring that every city dollar was used wisely and ethically to serve the 8.4 million New Yorkers who rely on our city government every day,\u201d Lander said in a video on the comptroller\u2019s office\u2019s YouTube account in December 2025, shortly before his term ended.<\/p>\n

In multiple cases, Lander\u2019s team increased the city\u2019s number of company shares in the same year or shortly after they were added to the UFLPA list, which is managed by the US Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n

For instance, the comptroller\u2019s office purchased stock in Cofco Sugar Holding, a Chinese sugar manufacturer, the same year it was added to the list in December 2023.<\/p>\n

Another company, large appliance manufacturer Changhong Meiling, was put on the list in 2022 after reports that police had escorted 90 people from Xinjiang to work there.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t deter the comptroller\u2019s office from investing $7.4 million in pension funds in the company in 2024. That investment now stands at about half a million dollars in shares.<\/p>\n

Lander\u2019s team in 2023 also bought another 96,300 shares in Huafu Fashion \u2014 a textile manufacturer on the UFLPA for allegedly using forced labor \u2014 on top of the 103,400 shares the city held when he took office.<\/p>\n

As of June 2025, the city pension funds held close to 200,000 shares of the company\u2019s stock, totaling about $127,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The revelation comes despite Lander claiming his job as comptroller was to make sure every dollar was used \u201cethically and wisely.\u201d REUTERS<\/p>\n

The other companies included Ninestar Corp, Zijn Mining, Xingjian Zhongtai Chemical, and Hoshine Silicone Industry, according to a review of records by The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs comptroller, Brad had a fiduciary responsibility to New York City retirees, such that he was able to make broad policies on investments but couldn\u2019t choose individual companies to invest in or divest from,\u201d a spokesperson for the Lander for Congress campaign said. <\/p>\n

But the comptroller does have the power to propose divestment and exclusions to the pension\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

Lander unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic mayoral nomination last year and is now going up against incumbent Goldman in the race for New York\u2019s 10th House District.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who champions workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

Current City Comptroller Mark Levine did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s inquiry about whether he has plans to divest from the sanctioned companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven Chinese companies blacklisted by the US for engaging in horrific forced labor practices saw a multimillion-dollar boost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[8069,827,68,18523,75,84,83,57,9,24,63,240,58],"class_list":["post-222407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-brad-lander","tag-china","tag-exclusive","tag-investments","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-pensions","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}