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May 7, 2016

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Probe into fake online ads aims to curb frauds

CHINA plans to launch a crackdown on false advertising of Internet financial services this month to curb rising risks of fraud committed in cyberspace.

The campaign will run through November, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said in a notice on its website yesterday, without specifying the dates.

The crackdown aims to ensure strict controls on advertisements of Internet finance companies such as online peer-to-peer lenders.

“The advertisement probe will definitely hit online lenders in terms of website volumes and the number of customers,” said Ma Jun, chief research officer at Shanghai Ying Can Investment Management Consulting Co.

False or exaggerated advertising has been blamed for the rise in frauds and for misleading investors to invest in online lenders. The most notorious case cited was Ezubao which was a Ponzi scheme that raised over 58.1 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion) from 901,294 investors before being shut down by the police in December.

The planned probe followed crackdowns on the booming online lending sector, which included local branches of the industry and commerce regulator banning registration from applicants with finance-related names or business since the middle of April.

The People’s Bank of China last month called for legislations to combat illegal fundraising activities through the Internet.

More than a third of about 4,000 existing online P2P lenders had faced difficulties for funds to be withdrawn by April, said Online Lending House, which tracks the sector. Seventy-five platforms halted services last month.




 

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