A SHENZHEN businesswoman, An Zi, famous for her rags-to-riches story, is being investigated by police over possible links to a peer-to-peer lending website that hasn’t returned money to at least 1,500 investors.

    An, also known as An Lijiao, is chairwoman of the An Zi Housekeeping Group.

    Shenzhen Xinrunbao Co., a company responsible for promoting An’s website An Zi Family Commerce City, is also being investigated by police on suspicion of illegal fundraising.

    The website, opened in November 2014, is operated by Shenzhen Shoumen Science and Technology Co., a company wholly controlled by An herself.

    Those who wanted to open an online shop on the website need to pay deposits up to tens of thousands of yuan.

    The website looks similar to other online shopping websites, selling a variety of products from fruits to clothes.

    The website also offered peer-to-peer loans. The company offered high economic returns to attract investment.

    Many investors gave hundreds of thousands of yuan and increased investment after they initially got high economic returns from the company.

    In January, Xinrunbao commissioned Qianhai Caishendao Co., an Internet finance firm, to collect deposits from investors, which were transferred to a China Minsheng Bank account. Caishendao was controlled by An’s daughter.

    Since May 28, the website stopped paying investors.

    In a text message responding to the Southern Metropolis Daily, An said that Xinrunbao which she hired to solicit investments is being investigated.

    Guo Chaohui, a lawyer with the Guangdong Junyan Shengdian Law Firm, said the An Zi Group was involved in illegal fundraising by promoting its family commercial city project online by promising high returns.

    An came to Shenzhen at age 17 in 1984 from Meixian County and worked on an assembly line.

    She educated herself in her spare time before entering Shenzhen University in 1988 while working part time. In 1992, she was named as one of Shenzhen’s top 10 elite youth. In 1998, An set up her An Zi New Housekeeping Service Co. which later turned into a group. It has dozens of franchised companies nationwide. (Han Ximin)