A management consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. has acknowledged a commercial connection to “the Chinese government,” according to a court document, even though the firm told a U.S. senator it had no business ties to the Beijing regime.

According to Senator Marco Rubio (R.-Fla. McKinsey told the lawmaker in July 2020 that it did not work with the Chinese government or the ruling Chinese Communist Party. According to senator, company executives reiterated that claim in a Zoom conference call with Senator Rubio’s advisors in March 2019.

McKinsey requested to serve as adviser in the bankruptcy case Valaris. However, McKinsey discovered that the consultancy firm had a financial connection with the Chinese government in September 2020. 

Rubio demanded more details from the firm about their work. China and explain how it prevents conflicts of interest between its consulting business for the U.S. government and Chinese clients close to the Beijing government. 

In a letter Thursday to McKinsey obtained by NBC News, the senator expressed outrage over the episode and accused the firm of misleading him about its activities in China. 

“It has come to my attention that McKinsey & Company appears to have lied to me and my staff on multiple occasions regarding McKinsey’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese government,” Rubio wrote.

Rubio claimed that McKinsey’s collaboration with the Chinese government, as well as with state-owned entities, and its consulting for U.S. agencies are “serious institution conflicts of interest.”

“It is increasingly clear that McKinsey & Company cannot be trusted to continue working on behalf of the United States government, including our Intelligence Community.”

McKinsey spokesmen stated that McKinsey did not work for China’s central government, but for local and provincial governments. This was confirmed by Rubio’s office in previous correspondence.

The spokesperson for NBC News stated that they have been transparent and consistent with all communications with Sen. Rubio. McKinsey, in its July 2020 correspondence with Rubio had stated that McKinsey worked with provincial and local governments on economic zones, real estate planning, and other related issues.

According to a spokesperson, the disclosure made in bankruptcy cases “reflects an exact description of client services that includes local government and provincial government and is completely consistent with what we discussed openly with Senator’s office.” It does not refer to the Central Government, Communist Party of China, or Central Military Commission of China. None of these are McKinsey clients, according to us.

It cites “Chinese government”, but does not state whether it is central or provincial.

McKinsey worked with Chinese officials in state-owned Chinese enterprises.

McKinsey representatives told NBC News last year that McKinsey does not work with political parties as part of its policy.

“We do not serve political parties anywhere in the world,” the McKinsey spokesperson said.

Rubio says that Liz Hilton Segel was the North America managing partner at McKinsey. He wrote to Rubio on July 3, 2020 to respond to his inquiry. [neither the Chinese Comunist Party nor the Chinese government]McKinsey has been a client ever since.

Rubio wrote in a Zoom conversation that McKinsey members told his staff, during March 17, 2021, that “members from McKinsey’s worldwide leadership team once-more informed my staff of their ignorance of the CCP and the Chinese government having ever being a client.”

Rubio said, “As you know, any dealings to the Chinese government are necessarily dealings avec the CCP.”

NBC News, previously reported that McKinsey has carried out sensitive consulting for the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies while also performing work for powerful state-owned enterprises in China supporting Beijing’s military buildup. Legislators are increasingly concerned about McKinsey’s China work, claiming that it could be a conflict of interest and threaten U.S. security. 

McKinsey’s contracts for consulting with the federal governments give McKinsey an insider’s view on U.S. Military Planning. intelligence and high-tech weapons programs. According to federal experts, lawmakers and others, the company also provides advice to Chinese state-run companies that supported Beijing’s Pacific naval construction and helped China expand its global influence.

McKinsey says it abides by U.S. laws on federal contracting and that it has extensive internal rules to prevent conflicts of interest and to protect clients’ information.

Rubio and other critics believe that the company is the largest consultancy firm in the world. This should be especially true in light of Washington’s concerns about Beijing’s industrial spying. arms buildup and intellectual property theft.

In a November 2020 letter to McKinsey, Rubio said he was concerned the company “either wittingly or unwittingly — is aiding the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to supplant the United States.”

In the same bankruptcy case involving the firm Valaris, McKinsey also disclosed its ties to Shenzhen Dajiang Baiwang Technology Co, a manufacturing facility specializing in unmanned aerial vehiclesAnd owned by Chinese drone maker DJI.

On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Department said it will add DJI along with seven other Chinese firms to an investment blacklist linked to the “Chinese military industrial complex.”

According to The Treasury Department, DJI has provided drones for the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. They are being used to monitor Uyghurs within Xinjiang.

McKinsey’s consulting work in China is not the only thing that has been criticized. McKinsey also faced criticism by lawmakers.

Without admitting wrongdoing this year the company agreed to pay $573 million to settle allegations from 49 states that its work for opioid manufacturers helped “turbocharge” sales of the drugs, contributing to a deadly addiction epidemic. The firm also notified 49 states that it had helped “turbocharge” sales of opioid manufacturers, resulting in a deadly addiction epidemic. was working for the pharmaceutical companies, McKinsey was advising the Food and Drug Administration on its prescription drug policy, according to court documents.

Last month, a multi-billion-dollar private investment fund affiliated with McKinsey & Co. settled regulatory allegations that it did not have adequate policies in place to prevent the misuse of inside information gleaned from its vast corporate consulting business, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Even though the S.E.C. Although the S.E.C. did not assert that the fund had misused confidential data, the firm cited McKinsey partners’ dual roles in overseeing the huge fund’s investments decisions while they also had access to client information. 

McKinsey’s investment fund MIO Partners, which was also known by MIO Partners, reached an agreement to pay $18million to settle the matter. They neither denied nor admitted to the allegations. MIO released a statement stating that “The historical problems identified in the S.E.C. MIO has implemented strengthened policies, procedures and resolved the historical issues. McKinsey and MIO did not use confidential information or other nonpublic information in this settlement.