FOUR major suspects from a Nanshan District company were officially charged with illegally raising 729 million yuan (US$111 million), Nanshan’s procuratorate announced recently.
Around 2,000 investors in the country were victimized by the fundraising scam, which offered interest rates of 14 to 24 percent a year.
Nanshan police received reports in January, saying a finance company illegally raised funds through P2P online lending.
Investigations showed that He, chairman of the company, set up a company in March 2012 and was engaged in a financial business without a license or approval from banking and stock regulators.
Its P2P platform listed some projects, including nonexistent projects, to attract investors. The company also set up branch companies in Futian, Changsha and Chenzhou in Hunan, and in Shanghai. They paid interest to investors with funds they raised to win trust from investors.
The investors’ money was transferred to He’s bank account for his personal use.
The company entered bankruptcy in December 2015 when investment slowed.
(Han Ximin)
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