Public Security Ministry targets pyramid schemes
pyramid scheme, it said, adding that the gathering was illegal.
According to the statement, the police persuaded the demonstrators to leave in an orderly manner. Those who led the group and who refused to follow police orders were taken away for further investigation.
Late last week, Chinese police cracked down on Shanxinhui, accusing the company of operating a pyramid scheme and cheating people out of money in the name of raising funds to help the poor.
Zhang Tianming, a representative of the company, and other suspects have been placed under “coercive measures”, which may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention or arrest.
According to the ministry, new kinds of financial crimes have increased sharply with the rapid development of the internet. They seriously risk the healthy development of the financial market, it said.
“We should remain on high alert and take effective measures to resolutely prevent the financial crimes from turning into a systemic financial risk,” a statement by the ministry said.
During the campaign launched on Tuesday, police officers will pay attention to combating economic crimes that seriously disrupt financial market order. They will use technical investigative tools to detect and prevent such crimes in a timely manner, the ministry said.
Moreover, the ministry will set up a big-data platform to collect valuable information that can help spot problems and prevent systemic risks. It will also centralize police officers in different areas to target such crimes, it said.
Xinhua contributed to this story