Several mainland media outlets reported recently that Zhejiang Yongkun Holdings Co., Ltd., a well-known gold comprehensive service provider in China (referred to as Yongkun Gold), is experiencing payment anomalies. Investors in various regions have found that they are unable to withdraw funds, with some investors and their families reportedly losing over tens of millions of RMB. The headquarters of Yongkun Gold in Hangzhou has been sealed off, with former employees stating that all the money went into it.
Recently, many netizens have indicated that Yongkun Gold, a gold comprehensive service provider, is facing difficulties in payments, leaving investors unable to cash out or receive refunds.
According to reports from media outlets such as the “Daily Economic News,” Yongkun Gold promoted its investment products with promises of annual returns of 7% to 8% and capital protection, along with slogans like being able to exchange points for purchasing gold, attracting a significant number of investors in mainland China.
Yongkun Gold’s gold trading business is conducted through both online and offline channels. However, regardless of the method used, most of the time, the gold is not physically held by the investors, a model known as gold custody. Industry experts have pointed out that this model allows for the practice of “one gold sold to multiple buyers,” which poses risks of runs on the bank and misuse of funds.
After buying gold on the platform, investors are unable to immediately take physical possession of the gold. They have to wait between 28 days to 365 days before they can choose to collect the gold, sell it directly, or request a refund. According to the business process diagram displayed on the platform, investors are promised to “earn steadily without losses,” regardless of market fluctuations.
As reported by “Red Star Capital Bureau,” a woman referred to as Ms. Li mentioned that she had invested nearly 400,000 RMB in Yongkun Gold’s online platform.
Ms. Li stated that on May 20th, a friend warned her about potential issues with Yongkun Gold’s online platform. She immediately took action, but all her refund and collection requests remained in a “pending approval” state.
By May 26th, the products on the Yongkun Gold online platform were cleared, and the customer service phone line was disconnected.
Another woman, referred to as Ms. Lu, purchased gold through Yongkun Gold’s offline channels. Her family collectively invested around 700,000 to 800,000 RMB. The essence of buying gold offline is essentially a gold leasing agreement that includes a gold insurance policy. Ms. Lu mentioned that she purchased gold from a Yongkun Gold affiliate store, leased the gold back to Yongkun Gold, and was promised an annualized return rate of about 7% based on the gold’s initial value at the time of purchase.
According to the “Daily Economic News,” investors and their families collectively bought gold financial investment products worth 12.3 million RMB.
On May 30th, at the headquarters of Yongkun Holdings, the cargo elevator on the 7th floor was sealed off with a notice indicating “Shanghai Yonglv Property Co., Ltd. Hangzhou Branch, May 2025.”
Even employees of Yongkun Holdings had invested in gold. A former employee of Yongkun Holdings tearfully expressed that not only had they lost their jobs, but all their money had been invested into the scheme, leaving them in debt.
Information from Tianyancha shows that Zhejiang Yongkun Holdings Co., Ltd., the operating entity of Yongkun Gold, was established in 2014, with Wang Guohai as the controlling shareholder.
Apart from Yongkun Gold, Zhejiang Yongkun Holdings Co., Ltd. has investments in multiple gold-related companies.
On May 23rd, Yongkun Gold and Zhejiang Yongkun Holdings Co., Ltd. were added to the list of businesses with abnormal operations due to “failure to contact the registered address or business location.”
On May 27th, the Economic Investigation Division of Shangcheng District in Hangzhou confirmed that the matter had been filed, and the specifics are currently under investigation.