Five held in China over scam to convince people to hand over cash in return for ‘frozen civil war trillions’
- Group accused of using fake UN documents – and even one from China’s last imperial dynasty – to convince people they could get a share of funds left by the defeated Nationalist forces
- Detainees reported to have confessed to being members of the International Plum Blossom ring that has been running the scheme for at least 40 years
Police in eastern China have detained five people on suspicion of carrying out a scam that aimed to convince people to part with their money in return for a share of trillions of US dollars that have been frozen since the defeated Nationalist forces fled the mainland at the end of the civil war.
Officers found fake army uniforms and a number of forged documents when they detained the three women and two men at a hotel in Shandong province last week, the Yimeng Evening News reported.
The gang is accused of promising investors a share from a fund worth trillions of US dollars that they said had been established by the Nationalists 70 years ago and claimed they were working for special task forces established by the UN and China’s Central Military Commission to unlock the assets.
The faked documents were said to include United Nations permits and even a gun licence issued by the last imperial dynasty, the Qing.
The report said the five had confessed they were members of a ring known as the International Plum Blossom, which has been operating similar scams for a decade.
The y were placed under criminal detention after they were questioned by police while eating at a hotel in Linyi city.