In May 2018, Chinese state-owned investment company CITIC assumed control of privately-owned CEFC Energy’s Czech assets. CEFC, a substantial investor in the Czech financial and tourism sectors, was forced surrender its Czech assets, after Ye Jianming, board chairman of CEFC and special advisor to Czech President Milos Zeman, was detained in China on suspicion of committing economic crimes. CEFC had rapidly purchased assets in the Czech Republic in 2015 and 2016; the firm’s holdings included a brewery, a soccer team, and majority shares in Czech financial institutions, hotels, and media agencies. European think tank Network noted in 2017 that CEFC was “the most prominent investor” in Czech markets. The 2018 agreement reached with CITIC entailed that the entirety of CEFC’s assets in the Czech Republic moved under the control of the Chinese state-owned investment company.