As a new round of stimulus packages is being debated in Congress, reports revealed that more than 125 Chinese-linked companies had received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loans—money that was supposedly meant to help small American businesses.

In an article published by the New York Times, an analysis made by the Horizon Advisory consulting firm revealed that an estimated 125 Chinese-linked companies had been awarded $192 to $419 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. These loans are funded by the American taxpayer and were initially meant to help small businesses to recover from the economic implications of the coronavirus outbreak.

Based on the NYT report, 32 of the 125 companies have already secured more than $1 million, amounting to a total of $180 million. Initially, the PPP loans were meant to help small American businesses with less than 500 employees continue their business operations amid the economic shutdown.

To point this out, the Continental Aerospace Technologie and Average System, which was owned by the Chinese government’s Aviation Industry Corporation of China, was able to secure $10.35 million worth of PPP loans. In another case, a company which was owned by the HNA Group received $1 million in PPP loans. The Chinese conglomerate had invested in various industries, including airport services, transportation, financial services, tourism, hotels, logistics, and leasing. Another Chinese linked conglomerate called the BGI group also received $1 million in loans. Fortunately, as the media revealed that the Chinese-linked company received millions in taxpayers’ money, BGI Americas Corporation immediately returned the federal fund.

In addition, a California biotech company called Dendreon Pharmaceuticals was also given $5 million to $10 million of loans. However, just like HNA and BGI, the company was also owned by the Nanjing Xinbai, a Chinese company with close ties to the communist party.

The federal loans also went into Silicon Valley with Citcon USA LLC, which had received $150,000 to $350,000 in federal loans. Citicon aims to connect American companies to Chinese payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat. Beyond its financial services, the company also had links to China, with ZhenFund one of its major investors.

However, the news of Chinese owned companies infiltrating the U.S economy is nothing new. In a study by Public Citizen, Chinese investments had ballooned into $145 billion.

To stop hemorrhaging American taxpayer’s money to communist linked companies, Senate Republicans added a provision that would prohibit Chinese-backed companies from eligibility to receive the PPP loans. Moreover, even President Donald Trump vowed that he would ban Chinese owned apps like TikTok, which had become increasingly popular among teens. The move was frowned by Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who declared that he would continue to support the use of the app.

On Friday, Attorney General William Barr also addressed the issue of Chinese companies taking advantage of federal loans. In a statement, Barr said, ‘“the People’s Republic of China is now engaged in an economic blitzkrieg—an aggressive, orchestrated, whole-of-government (indeed, whole-of-society) campaign to seize the commanding heights of the global economy.”