Several private lending platforms in Putian City, Fujian Province have recently experienced a series of explosion incidents, including Huangjin Matou, Youjie Dai, Xinda Shoes, and Mitsubishi Treasure, involving billions to tens of billions of Chinese yuan. Thousands of victims gathered outside the municipal government demanding justice, shouting “Give back our hard-earned money.” According to the victims, their efforts to seek justice have been in vain.
The largest e-commerce platform in Putian City, “Huangjin Matou,” recently went bankrupt. On March 2, thousands of investors gathered in front of the city government, demanding the withdrawal of their deposits and chanting “Give back our hard-earned money.” Several elderly people collapsed due to exhaustion on the spot. Authorities deployed a large number of police officers to maintain order at the scene.
Investor Li Yun confirmed to reporters that thousands of investors have been advocating for their rights at the city government, but to no avail.
“Huangjin Matou,” officially known as Fujian Huangjin Matou Network Technology Co., Ltd., was established on November 2, 2015. It is a company under the Fujian Huangjin Matou Jewelry Group Co., Ltd., with its headquarters located in Zhenhai Street, Licheng District of Putian City. The legal representative is Lin Guochun. “Huangjin Matou” is a key development project in Putian City, a key e-commerce platform in Fujian Province, and a key project of the “9.8 Xiamen International Investment and Trade Fair.”
Li Yun, who invested around 70 to 80 thousand yuan at the end of last year, has yet to see any returns. She never expected the platform to collapse during the Chinese New Year. Li Yun mentioned that the platform in Putian City had the largest investment amounts, with some investing tens of millions yuan, while others invested millions. There were numerous investors investing hundreds of thousands of yuan. According to her, the number of investors exceeded two thousand people, with a total investment amount reaching tens of billions yuan.
Li Yun mentioned that many elderly investors did not understand the nature of the e-commerce services involving gold and only interacted with the company’s sales representatives. They were only aware of investing money into the platform, where they were promised monthly interests based on their investments. Lin Guochun also had physical stores in various locations in Putian City.
Li Yun stated: “Many elderly individuals have put their entire life savings into this. Many elderly people around me are in poor health. They cry every day, unable to eat and sleep. It is really pitiful. If the money is not repaid, things could escalate. It’s not just a matter of several lives; the whole of Putian might be in turmoil.”
On February 26, Lin Guochun, who was still in Singapore, issued a public letter stating that “individual staff embezzlement and illegal operations resulted in the freezing of some accounts.” On March 1, Lin Guochun recorded a video stating his willingness to take responsibility and cooperate with investigations.
Li Yun expressed that Lin Guochun is trying to buy time. Initially, he promised to make payments to the investors three to four days later, but currently, the payments have been delayed until the end of the month.
Li Yun also mentioned that Lin Guochun had boasted about the company’s profitability before the New Year, but during the Chinese New Year, the entire family fled, indicating premeditation.
It is reported that the Putian branch of Fujian Zhongman New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. utilized projects like You Bao Tong, You Jie Dai, You Lian Jie, and You Ka Shang Cheng for private fundraising, attracting the public with high interest rates. The platform went bankrupt on October 1 last year, and the boss disappeared. The amount involved reached 720 million yuan, affecting over two thousand victims, mostly elderly individuals.
For more than thirty years, Zhou Yu has been operating a cosmetics store, leading a peaceful life. However, around seven to eight years ago, through a familiar sales representative, she joined the You Jie Dai platform. Initially, she invested just over 600,000 yuan with a monthly interest of 7%. As the business in her store declined last year, with a meager monthly profit of only around 3,000 yuan, barely enough to cover rent, she decided to invest her savings of over two million yuan into You Jie Dai for a stable income.
She revealed that she invested all her savings around August or September last year, only to find out about the platform’s explosion on October 1. The sales
assistant assured her that the platform was registered with the national authorities and persuaded her to invest confidently, stating they had also invested 10 million yuan. She stated, “Business representatives deceived us, claiming it was investing in building gas stations. However, the money was used by the boss for gambling. Initially, we only knew of one boss, but now there are multiple shareholders coming forward. We didn’t invest; we were tricked into investing, solely for the interest.”
“My son is already 25 years old. I used the money meant for his wedding to invest. Now, my business isn’t doing well, and I invested all the money. I thought I could happily earn interest every day. Now, I can’t even recover the principal; I’ve been crying non-stop.”
It is understood that the victims have been seeking justice for several months, but with no tangible results, encountering mutual protection among officials. Zhou Yu believes that the government is serving as a protective umbrella for the companies. “We only know they have protection; they pay no attention to us. Village leaders are calling one by one, asking us not to report the case, not to create troubles at the government office, but to stay calm at home.”
Zhou Yu also mentioned that the company has been claiming to “bridge debts,” but after five months, there has been no progress.
Xinda Shoes Co., Ltd. is a large footwear company with a history of nearly 30 years, located in Putian City. The enterprise has been collecting funds from local villagers. Recently, the boss absconded with funds amounting to 400 million yuan.
Fangle, a villager from Xitian Village, mentioned that from a young age, she knew that adults were depositing money into this company because of high-interest rates. Last year, she also invested over a million yuan.
She mentioned, “The boss has already moved out of the village. The company is operating as usual, with security guards present. Villagers cannot locate the boss.”
“Right now, they’re not even mentioning repayment. When you ask him (the boss), he tells you to deal with the government. The government says they didn’t lend us any money. Why are they asking us? All sorts of excuses, passing the buck back and forth.”
Fangle further stated that the villagers had put all their house-building funds into the company, and now they have nothing left. Villagers seeking justice have faced threats and intimidation.
Additionally, the Mitsubishi Bao App financing platform and Tianhou platform have also collapsed, leaving the people in distress.
Fangle remarked, “Putian is as corrupt as it gets; it’s all filled with greedy officials. If they can catch a bunch of them, then there might be some semblance of justice.”
(Pseudonyms are used for all individuals mentioned in the article.)