31 March, 2016
Police have arrested the founder of China's largest online business Ezubao, Ding Ning, together with 20 of his employees in connection with what is reportedly China's biggest ever financial fraud. Ezubao, China's largest online peer-to-peer (P2P) lender which was established in July 2014 was placed under investigation in 2015 after authorities suspected it of conducting illegal activities and defrauding approximately 900,000 investors of over US$ 7.6 billion. Police raided the company after discovering that its executives were allegedly transferring funds and planning to flee. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has launched a website to gather facts about Ezubao, which allows the victims of Ezubao fraud scheme to register their information. According to MPS, the fraud "involves a large number of investors dispersed across the country, with huge amounts of electronic information". The website is expected to help with the ongoing investigation.
For further information, please contact:
Kyle Wombolt, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
kyle.wombolt@hsf.com
