Gov. Rick Scott and his wife had an enormous, hidden financial stake in a Chinese railway company that supplies components to the U.S. contractor building Brightline passenger trains for All Aboard Florida, a venture the governor strongly backed.
The Scotts’ interest in Qingdao Victall Railway Group Co. Ltd. began in October 2014 when it partnered with their company, Continental Structural Plastics (CSP), to form a 50-50 joint venture called CSP Victall (Tangshan) Structural Composites Co. Ltd. At the time, the Scotts were majority owners of Michigan-based Continental.
Continental Structural Plastics, which was sold to the Japanese conglomerate Teijin for $825 million in January 2017, manufactures lightweight composite materials used in cars, trucks, and construction. Qingdao Victall and its affiliates use lightweight “composite material similar to automotive interiors” to make modular products and parts for high-speed trains, intercity trains and other transportation equipment. The partnership manufactures composite components in China.
Continental’s sale produced a $200 million windfall for Gov. Scott personally and another $350 million for First Lady Ann Scott and 11 smaller investor-partners, Florida Bulldog reported last year. The other investors were Scott family members or close associates.
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