Chinese tycoon Zhang Jin, who owns Fortune Global 500 company, arrested for alleged illegal fundraising worth US$3 billion
- Police said they are investigating the illegal absorption of public deposits by Guangdong Yuanfang Investment, a unit of Cedar, and arrested Zhang
- It comes as Beijing cracks down on financial crimes to maintain social stability as the economy struggles to recover after the pandemic
Zhang Jin, the billionaire owner of commodities giant Cedar Holdings, has been arrested for illegal fundraising estimated at about 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion), according to officials and mainland Chinese media reports.
Police in Guangzhou began an investigation into the illegal absorption of public deposits by Guangdong Yuanfang Investment, a wholly-owned unit of Cedar, and apprehended the main suspect, identified only as Zhang, the city’s Huangpu district public security bureau said in a statement posted on its official WeChat account on Sunday.
An exchange filing by Cedar Development, the Shanghai-listed clothes manufacturer subsidiary of Cedar Holdings, said on Tuesday it could not reach Zhang Jin, the company’s actual controller who owns a stake of almost 70 per cent through indirect holdings. Shanghai Securities News and Sing Tao Daily both reported that Zhang had been detained by the police.
Two calls by the Post to Cedar Holdings, a Fortune Global 500 company, went unanswered during business hours.
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