China’s largest online credit card management platform under police investigation: reports

Source:Global Times Published: 2019/10/21 19:02:03

Photo: VCG


China's largest online credit card management platform, Hangzhou-based 51 Credit Card, is reportedly under police investigation. The company's shares in Hong Kong were suspended on Monday after plunging about 40 percent.

Industry insiders said that the investigation may be related to the company's illegal collection of personal information involving web crawler technology and recovering personal loans.

On Monday morning, more than 100 police officers stormed the fintech company's headquarters in the Xihugu International Business Center in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, according to media reports. There were 12 police vehicles on the spot, full of people, news website qq.com reported. 51 Credit's CEO Sun Haitao was reportedly taken into custody to assist investigation on Sunday.

The company's shares in Hong Kong plunged on Monday afternoon, falling 34.7 percent from the opening before trading was suspended at 1:50 pm on Monday. In a statement to the Hong Kong bourse, 51 Credit claimed the company's business and financial situation were normal and sound, and it said it would provide shareholders and potential investors with updates on the investigation. 

Some industry insiders said that the investigation was due to its capture of banks' user information using crawling technology without prior authorization. Others also wondered if the investigation involved its peer-to-peer (P2P) lending business. 

According to a document obtained by some Chinese media, some banks have sent legal letters to the fintech company, accusing it of "obtaining personal information in large volume and in all facets" and claiming it illegally infringed on citizens' personal information.

51 Credit manages more than 138.7 million credit cards, with about 834 million customers. The company was listed in Hong Kong in 2018.  

More than 1,200 Chinese P2P firms have exited the market amid a campaign to regulate the sector, China's banking and insurance regulator said at a press briefing on Monday.

Posted in: ECONOMY,COMPANIES

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