'I didn't take the money': head of China's Fanya Metals Exchange claims innocence in the face of 36 billion yuan debts
As investors face losses of 36 billion yuan, founder of what was once the world's biggest rare metals trading platform says he's done nothing wrong
Kidnapped from a hotel by investors demanding he return some 36 billion yuan (HK$43.8 billion)they claimed he owed, and publicly denounced by angry demonstrators as a swindler, Shan Jiuliang, founder of Fanya Metals Exchange, once the world's biggest rare metals trading platform, is adamant that he did nothing wrong.
"I did not take the money from the investors," Shan told the South China Morning Post in a series of recent online conversations. "People are losing their minds. But it does not help the situation if they act irrationally."
Fanya was one of hundreds of so-called commodity exchanges that have mushroomed across the mainland, trading products as diverse as rare metals and garlic. Fanya had promised double-digit returns on a punt on metal prices increasing, a bet that went horribly wrong as commodity prices collapsed worldwide.
Its demise has raised concerns that others could follow, adding to the mainland's debt problems.
The platform, based in the southwestern city of Kunming allowed people to trade 14 rare metals, and to borrow money from retail investors online with a 20 per cent down payment. But Shan's troubles began in mid July when trading was suspended after Fanya became unable to pay back investors' principal and a 13.7 per cent annualised return it had guaranteed.