The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has searched the offices of New York Global Group, a firm specializing in reverse mergers for Chinese firms looking to list on US stock exchanges, Bloomberg reported. The company, which also has offices in Beijing, has advised clients such as CleanTech Innovations and Harbin Electric, the latter of which went private in December following accusations of fraud. An FBI spokesman said that the searches were conducted in relation to an ongoing investigation, though he declined to say more. Benjamin Wey, the firm’s founder and president, also declined to comment. Around 400 Chinese companies have listed in the US via reverse mergers, a technique in which a Chinese firm purchase the shares of a US shell company but remain publicly listed. The US Securities and Exchange Commission warned last June of potential “fraud and other abuses” and introduced new standards in November for firms looking to list via reverse mergers.