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WORLD NEWSSaturday 19 December 2015
Chinese online lender seized, depositors demand money back
JOE McDONALD private sector Chinese fi- In this Thursday Dec. 17, 2015 photo, the office of Ezubo is locked after a police raid, in Hangzhou
AP Business Writer nance companies that in east China’s Zhejiang province. Major Internet-based lender, Ezubo, which collected billions
BEIJING (AP) — Yang Ying, have been battered by a of dollars in deposits, was raided by police who froze a bank account and detained executives.
an art teacher in north- wave of defaults due to an
eastern China, entrusted economic slump, trigger- (Chinatopix via AP)
480,000 yuan ($76,000) to a ing protests by depositors.
major Internet-based lend- Regulators allowed private Authorities are scrambling yuan ($175 million) de- aboard the national bullet
er, Ezubo, after seeing ad- sector lending to flourish to head off possible pro- posit belonging to another train network. “We con-
vertisements on state tele- with little oversight over the tests over Ezubo, which Yucheng subsidiary. tacted a lawyer, and the
vision, which she took as a past decade to support news reports say had 4.9 Depositors from other parts lawyer said there are too
sign it was safe. entrepreneurs who cre- million depositors, making it of China have traveled to many things involved in this
Just a week later, she was ate China’s new jobs and much larger than other pri- Beijing to protest at govern- case, and because it is un-
horrified to see news re- wealth but are largely shut vate lenders that have run ment offices and the head- der investigation now, it is
ports that Ezubo, which col- out of lending by the state- into trouble. quarters of China Central better to wait to see the au-
lected billions of dollars in owned banking industry. Ezubo collected a total of Television, according to Yin thorities’ decision,” said Yin.
deposits, had been raided Regulators tightened con- 74.7 billion yuan ($11.8 bil- Jun, an employee of a so- Private finance companies
by police who froze a bank trols after declining eco- lion) in deposits since its lar power company in the attract money by paying
account and detained ex- nomic growth led to de- founding on Feb. 25, 2014, eastern province of Jiang- more than state-owned
ecutives. She called city faults and protests. The fi- according to Xincainet, a su. “The police called to banks. The benchmark in-
hall in her hometown of nance industry as a whole financial information web- warn me not to complain terest rate of 1.5 percent
Changchun and was told has come under tougher site. Other news reports about the Communist Party on a one-year deposit is
to hire a lawyer, but says scrutiny after a plunge in gave similar figures but in the WeChat group,” said less than inflation. The In-
she cannot afford that stock prices in June led to none said how much the Yin, referring to a popular ternet has helped draw in
while her money is tied up accusations of insider trad- company owed to de- messaging app. deposits from working class
in Ezubo. ing and other offenses. positors at the time it was Yin, 22, said he also had or rural depositors, many of
Yang, 31, said she saw Ezu- Ezubo was seized Dec. 8 on seized. According to Caix- been reassured about them financial novices who
bo’s advertising on state suspicion of raising money in, police ordered CITIC Ezubo because of its ad- have little knowledge of
broadcaster CCTV right without the required licens- Bank to freeze a 1.1 billion vertisements on CCTV and the risks involved.q
before the evening news, es, according to the offi-
but “what really persuaded cial Xinhua News Agency.
me is the advertising on the The business magazine
variety show on Anhui Sat- Caixin reported the chair-
ellite TV,” a prominent re- man of its parent compa-
gional broadcaster. “Pretty ny, Yucheng International
famous stars are on that Holdings Group Ltd., was
program,” she said. detained by police and
The seizure of Ezubo has 40 to 50 other employees
added to tensions over were questioned.
South Koreans call fresh protests of president
KIM TONG-HYUNG police and protesters. century.
Associated Press Although Park still has a Government figures show
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) strong base of supporters, that the unemployment
— Hundreds of South Kore- dissatisfaction has been rate for people under 30
ans called for new protests growing. Demonstrators is approaching levels not
of conservative President criticize her conservative seen since the late 1990s,
Park Geun-hye, whose in- policies in labor, trade and when millions lost their jobs
creasingly harsh treatment education and also what during a crippling financial
of union members and dis- they see as her attacks on crisis. The demonstrations
sidents has led to criticism personal and political free- have grown because pro-
comparing her with her doms. testers believe their causes
late dictator father. There is also widespread have been neglected by
The rally Saturday will be frustration among young politicians and the media,
the latest in a series of mass people over joblessness said Chung Jaewon, a so-
protests in recent months, and inequality, which has cial science professor at
although police believe inspired an Internet buzz- Seoul’s Kookmin University.
the turnout will be smaller word, “Hell Joseon,” refer- Park’s government has
than huge demonstrations ring to the feudal Joseon responded by clamping
earlier this month and on kingdom that ruled Ko- down on the labor and civ-
Nov. 14, when dozens were rea before it was colonized ic organizations involved in
injured in a clash between by Japan in the early 20th organizing the protests.q
