Recently, the Shenzhen-based company “Shenshang Zhonghui Holdings Co., Ltd.” (referred to as “Shenshang Zhonghui”) has come under scrutiny as its owner, Qin Wanjun, allegedly fled with tens of millions of yuan in customer profits, leaving the remaining executives unaccounted for. This incident has sparked widespread attention and concern among industry professionals and investors. The self-proclaimed “largest domestic” financial service company, established less than a year ago, has suddenly vanished, leaving thousands of investors empty-handed, with involved amounts reaching tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan.
The company ceased trading operations, and the owner along with other top executives were unreachable.
On August 6th, several WeChat service groups affiliated with “Shenshang Zhonghui” suddenly disbanded, with customer service personnel exiting the groups collectively. Numerous investors discovered that their options products were no longer being priced correctly on the morning of the same day. The company subsequently instructed all employees to vacate the office, which was later sealed off by the relevant authorities.
Founded less than a year ago, Shenshang Zhonghui was fully owned by Shenzhen Pingbang Fund Management Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Pingbang Fund”), with Wang Jianbao as the legal representative and Li Xiangmiao as the actual controller. The company claimed to be an innovative and diversified financial service platform initiated by several senior financial professionals in the industry.
According to a recent report by Ifeng News’ “Storm Eye,” several former employees have confirmed the fact that the owner absconded with the funds. One employee stated, “Last month, the boss didn’t pay the rent and was playing abroad, which raised suspicions for me.”
Former employee Xiaokai (pseudonym) revealed that Qin Wanjun was the true owner of the company, who disappeared after taking away over ten million yuan. Other executives also went missing after the incident was reported to the authorities, leaving only the lower-level employees and victims to deal with the aftermath.
When contacted, the phone number listed in Pingbang Fund’s business registration documents denied any affiliation with the company and hung up after stating, “I don’t understand what you are talking about.” Calls to the Futian Police Station were met with responses like, “We are not clear about this.”
Former employees and internal sources analyzed that the main trigger for this crisis was the recent surge in the stock market. The strong gains in sectors such as military technology and medical innovation products led to significant profits for many customers, causing the company’s payment obligations to surpass its financial capacity, ultimately resulting in a “margin call.”
The report mentioned problems arising from the collaboration model between the company and Hong Kong securities firms, where partners received funds from customers but failed to transfer them to the securities firms, leading to a halt in quoting prices and subsequent payment crises. An employee pointed out that the T+0 (real-time settlement) mechanism promised by the company to clients had been delayed for two weeks, eventually leading to customer complaints.
Shenshang Zhonghui primarily offered services related to off-exchange stock options.
Pingbang Fund has consistently touted “Shenshang Zhonghui” as the “leading brand in the domestic financial services industry,” emphasizing its deep collaboration with multiple securities firms, boasting the “best cost-effectiveness in the market,” and claiming to be the only one nationwide offering a T+0 execution mechanism, allowing profits to be credited within ten minutes.
After signing contracts, customers were instructed to transfer funds to Li Xiangmiao’s personal account based on the stock options ratio, allowing for off-exchange financing of up to 1 million yuan (up to twenty times leverage) for premiums ranging from 50,000 to over 100,000 yuan. However, orders had to be placed by company customer service, followed by settlement based on specific profit models within a certain timeframe.
Xiaokai mentioned that such high-leverage products easily led individuals to get carried away, and a shift in market conditions could result in total loss of capital. Xiaokai had once used 100,000 yuan to make nearly 2 million in profits but ended up losing it all in three days due to over-trading.
The company’s executive director, Song Huatao, conducted daily morning meetings to boost employee morale and encourage more customer orders. Customers who were making profits were particularly active in placing orders.
However, these orders could also lead to losses for customers, and without signed risk agreements, employees might face consequences. Furthermore, supervisors repeatedly urged employees to place orders for specific stocks. Considering all these factors, Xiaokai eventually decided to resign.