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Hunan clamps down on illegal fund-raising

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-08 06:34

JISHOU, Hunan -- Local authorities in central China's Hunan Province on Sunday started probing into 12 companies involved in illegal fund-raising cases after a dispute led to lenders' demonstration on Wednesday and Thursday, blocking roads and railways.

The government of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture issued a notice on TV, radio and newspapers on Sunday, telling the public that working teams had been sent to the enterprises on suspicion of illegal fund-raising and a probe into their assets had began.

The notice said the executives of the suspected enterprises and relevant financial information would be put under control.

The prefectural capital of Jishou city ordered all underground fund-raising activities to stop and suspected enterprises to suspend paying interest before the probe ended.

On Wednesday the lenders involved in a fund-raising dispute with a real estate company gathered at the prefecture government in Jishou, asking for authorities' intervention after the company failed to pay them back as promised.

Some of them and lookers-on swarmed to the railway station of Jishou City at 10 p.m., but were talked away by officials, including provincial law and public security chief Li Jiang, to leave about an hour later.

The lenders, however, gathered again Thursday morning in streets and at the railway station, blocking traffic and delaying trains.

The traffic returned to normal and the railway station resumed operation by Thursday evening.

Underground fund-raising has existed for long in Xiangxi. Some companies have been in payback crisis since August, causing panic among lenders.