In December 2004, Goldman Sachs struck an unusual deal to bolster its presence in China. The Wall Street investment bank agreed to “donate” $62 million to pay off the debt of a failed state-owned brokerage house.The money went into a fund that was supposed to compensate investors whose savings had been embezzled by the directors of Hainan Securities, a state-backed firm. In exchange, Beijing granted Goldman a license to operate a joint venture brokerage firm in China. That new venture, Go