LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has completed an investigation into Risever Machinery (Hefei Risever Machinery Co.), a Chinese-owned company located in Jonesboro, and determined that it is not in violation of Arkansas law concerning foreign ownership of land.
The inquiry was initiated following a request from Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward, who urged Griffin’s office to investigate two companies suspected of having ties to the Chinese government. Risever Machinery, a parts manufacturer, and Jones Digital LLC, a crypto-mining operation in Arkansas County, were the focal points of Ward’s concerns.
The investigation was prompted by the Department of Agriculture under the authority of Act 636, which prohibits foreign-controlled businesses from owning land in Arkansas. In his letter to Griffin, Ward emphasized that China remains subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and is consequently subject to the restrictions outlined in Act 636.
Although Risever Machinery is not engaged in crypto-mining, it drew attention from the Department of Agriculture. The company, identified as a parts manufacturer, was found to be in compliance with tax payments. However, concerns were raised as no visible workforce was observed at the facility.
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward commented on the situation, stating, “It just raised a lot of red flags on what’s going on there that we felt like it was important for the attorney general to look a little bit deeper.”
Attorney General Tim Griffin, after conducting a thorough investigation, issued a statement on Friday, saying, “After a comprehensive review, I have determined that Jonesboro’s Chinese-owned Risever Machinery, LLC, is not in violation of Arkansas’s law regarding foreign ownership of real property.”
This investigation is not the first instance in which the state has probed companies for suspected ties to the Chinese Communist Party. In October, Sanders and Griffin directed the Northrup King Seed Company to divest 160 acres of farmland in Craighead County within two years. The company, a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, is controlled by a Chinese state-owned chemical company.