Nearly four years have passed, and Liu Zhengming still remembers the scene of his son Liu Biao being taken away by Yancheng**.
At around 2 p.m. on December 30, 2019, a number of police officers entered Liu Zhengming's home and handcuffed Liu Biao and his colleague Li Delong and took them away.
Liu Biao, Li Delong and other six people were arrested on suspicion of fraud on the same day. They are accused of using three online loan apps developed to induce them to charge high "head-cutting interest" from victims under advertisements such as "low interest" and "no collateral". During the operation time, more than 100 million yuan of "cut interest" was collected, and the amount involved was finally determined to be more than 1,400 yuan.
"Cut interest" means that interest is deducted from the principal amount in advance. Article 670 of the Civil Code stipulates that the interest on the loan shall not be deducted from the principal in advance. If the interest is deducted from the principal in advance, the loan shall be returned according to the actual amount borrowed and the interest shall be calculated.
In the end, Li Delong and Liu Biao were sentenced to 11 years in prison in the first instance, and the other four were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 5 years and 3 months to 7 years. All six appealed against the verdict.
The court of first instance found that Li Delong and Liu Biao "played a leading role in the joint crime and were the principal offenders". However, the two believe that their actions were carried out at the behest of Liu Tao, the then chairman of the listed company Qitian Technology Group Co., Ltd., hereinafter referred to as "Qitian Technology", *300061). If they are convicted, Liu Tao should be the main culprit.
November 6 On November 9, the Yancheng Intermediate People's Court conducted a second-instance trial of the case, which has not yet been decided.
High "head-cutting interest".
The Yandu Branch of the Yancheng Public Security Bureau once issued a document saying that at 3 a.m. on December 31, 2019, 53 suspects of "routine loans" were escorted back to Yandu from Shanghai, Taizhou and other places overnight.
The article also revealed that the arrest operation was carried out on December 30, 2019 under the unified command of the Municipal Bureau, and the Yandu Branch of the Yancheng Public Security Bureau, together with the Criminal Police Detachment and the Cyber Security Detachment of the Municipal Bureau, together with Shanghai**, dispatched a total of more than 100 police officers.
The Yandu District Public Security Bureau of Yancheng City issued a notice of Li Delong's arrest.
Relevant judicial materials disclosed that a total of 88 computer hosts and 17 server hard disks were seized. Among the above-mentioned 53 people, Li Delong, Liu Bi, Shi Meiqin, Zhou Shengzong, Zhang Zhao, and Xia Lu were investigated for criminal responsibility on suspicion of committing fraud. These six people are all "post-80s", except for Li Delong and Liu Bi, the other four were all arrested by Yancheng ** across the province in Shanghai. Li Delong is the chief operating officer of Shanghai Xiaocheng Information Technology Co., Ltd., and Liu Biao is the chief executive officer.
According to the indictment, the case was investigated by the Yandu Branch of the Yancheng Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the defendants Li Delong, Liu Biao and other 6 people were suspected of fraud, and were transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution on June 22, 2020. After the prosecution accepted it, due to unclear facts and insufficient evidence, it returned to ** for supplementary investigation on July 22, 2020. On August 20, 2020, ** was again transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution.
The prosecution alleges that since 2016, defendants Li Delong and Liu Biao have successively hired Zhou Shengzong and Zhang Zhao as technical directors, Shi Meiqin as the operation director, and Xia Lu as the J**A architect, and developed a number of online lending apps such as "Yihuabao", "Liuliu Wallet" and "Little White Money Cabinet" for online promotion and operation, using advertisements such as "low interest", "no collateral", "fast lending" and "no disturbance" as inducements, taking advantage of borrowers who are in urgent need of borrowing, unprofessional in financial business, unfamiliar with legal knowledge, and The online platform does not understand and illegally lends money to unspecified members of the public through third-party payment platforms on the Internet.
The public prosecution further pointed out that the defendant used "authentication fees", "handling fees", "service fees", "credit investigation fees" and other reasons to induce the victims to sign a "loan agreement" that did not match the actual loan amount based on the erroneous understanding that "the fees are reasonable and legal", and charged the victims a high amount of "beheading interest" ranging from 10 to 30 yuan, and Li Delong and others used network technology to fabricate facts, conceal the truth, and defraud others of their property, the amount of which was particularly huge, all of which constituted the crime of "fraud".
In March 2023, the Yandu District People's Court of Yancheng City made a first-instance judgment. The court held that Li Delong and others constituted the crime of fraud.
The court of first instance ascertained that the three APPs "Yihuabao", "Liuliu Wallet" and "Little White Money Cabinet" operated on March 2, 2018, May 8, 2018 and January 24, 2019 respectively, and ceased operation at the same time on March 19, 2019. During this period, more than 350,000 people borrowed successfully, and the "cut interest" collected was about 10.6 billion yuan, and the final amount involved in the case was more than 14.26 million yuan.
The court of first instance found that "Yihuabao" and "Liuliu Wallet" were all to avoid risks, and charged "cut interest" in the name of service fees, with an annualized interest rate of 358, and a high overdue penalty interest. "Little White Money Cabinet" is also a small cash loan platform with a pure online model, with a loan amount of 1,000 yuan and a loan term of 7 days. The annualized interest rate of "cut interest" is 1080, and the penalty interest is 390 days.
Defendant Shi Meiqin's confession stated that the company charged customers "head-cutting interest" in the name of "certification fees, service fees, and credit report fees". Although there is the actual amount received on the loan interface, the specific deduction items are hidden at the bottom of the interface, and the customer needs to click the expand button on the interface to see it. "The company had a meeting to discuss how to try to make customers not know that we were going to charge customers without violating the law. After '3.15'**, the company completely stopped the cash loan business, and at the same time, the company required the relevant data to be deleted and destroyed. ”
CCTV's 2019 "3.15" party reported that Ms. Dong, who lives in Changchun, was forced to illegally deduct 30 "cut interest" for her online short-term consumer loan by an illegal institution, and borrowed 7,000 yuan and only got 4,900 yuan.
Defendant Zhou Shengzong confessed that in April 2016, Li Delong and Liu Bi invited him to join the company to develop an app to engage in online lending. If the loan customer cannot pay the principal and interest on time, the technical department will push the information such as the previous contact book to the colleagues in the collection department, and the collectors will continue to harass the lender and threaten to call family and friends. For a very small number of customers who read the agreement, a very small font is used, with a total length of 2,000 words, so that customers do not want to continue to read it after opening it, and it only mentions charging "handling fees", but it does not clearly inform customers how to collect it, the purpose is to let users apply for loans without knowing it.
The statements of more than 50 people, including the victims Hu Ming and Cheng Xiangliang, confirmed that they were deceived by advertisements such as "low interest", "no collateral", "fast loan" and "no interruption", borrowed money on the app involved in the case, and were deducted high "service fees" and "cut interest" for no reason. The victim Cheng Xiangliang also confirmed that during the collection, his ** was PS into a spirit statue, the victim Zhang Qian also confirmed that he was abused during the collection, and the victims Gao Fei and Cheng Xianghong confirmed that their family and friends were harassed.
Listed companies enter the market
On April 8, 2016, Li Delong and Liu Biao established Xiaocheng Company. The company's legal person and chairman of the board of directors is Liu Di, and Li Delong serves as a director.
After the establishment of Xiaocheng, it developed a financial APP called "Miaobaitiao", and its main business is divided into small loans, cash loans, and credit loans. Li Delong's sister Li Dejun recalled that the state had not yet implemented strict management of the online lending business, and the "second white strip" seized the opportunity and the business exploded rapidly.
As a mobile phone application for loan borrowing, it has been widely praised for its fast, simple and low threshold. "Seconds White Bar" is known for its high efficiency of 18-second lending, allowing users to quickly obtain funds in case of emergency, and only need an ID card to apply for a loan. The loan amount ranges from 1,000 to 6,000 yuan.
In the second year of its establishment, Xiaocheng attracted the attention of Liu Tao, then chairman of the listed company Qitian Technology. According to public information, Liu Tao once worked in the Heilongjiang branch of China Construction Bank Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Bank Information Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China UnionPay
According to the official website of Qitian Technology, the company was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010, and is currently headquartered in Shanghai, Yancheng and Nanjing, and has operating institutions in Guangzhou, Hefei, Changzhou and other places. The company's main business is digital life marketing technology services and air travel information services, etc., and the scale and influence of business transactions are in a leading position in the industry.
Li Dejun said that at that time, Shanghai's Internet finance industry was booming, and Li Delong knew many investors. Under the introduction of an investor surnamed Dai, Li Delong got acquainted with Liu Tao.
On September 14, 2017, Liu Tao signed a "Cooperation Framework Agreement" with Li Delong and Liu Bi, stipulating that Liu Tao would arrange a third-party organization to 1For a consideration of more than 489.6 billion yuan, the acquisition of Li Delong and Liu Bi online loan companies 392 of the equity;Liu Tao promoted the establishment of a joint venture company between a third-party institution and Li Delong and Liu Biao, which is mainly engaged in the Internet small short-term cash loan business, with Li Delong and Liu Biao "fully responsible" for the day-to-day operation and management, and the financial personnel appointed by the third-party agency designated by Liu Tao.
The newly established company is called Khorgos Qifa Information Technology, hereinafter referred to as "Qifa Information", which is the operator of the "second white strip" loan superconduction platform), which was established in August 2017, and the company is located in Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang, with Liu Tao as a director. Tianyancha shows that Qifa Information is a member of Qitian Technology. Qiji Intelligent Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qitian Technology, holds 83 shares of Qifa Information.
Qitian Technology released its 2018 annual report and audit report, revealing that its subsidiary Qifa Information's revenue in 2018 was 42.5 billion yuan, net profit as high as 25.1 billion yuan. ** believes that the flag sends messages to make a lot of money, mainly thanks to the "second white bar". According to a report, in 2018, the "Miaobaitiao" Internet application cooperated with more than 200 paid and free upstream channels, and obtained nearly 5 million newly registered users.
At the beginning of 2019, according to the administrative penalty decision of the Shanghai Yangpu District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, "Miaobaitiao" was investigated and fined 100,000 yuan for illegally collecting the personal information of nearly 600,000 borrowers for the illegal use of Shanghai Qianjiao Asset Management.
In May 2020, it was reported that "Miaobaitiao" affected the performance of Qifa Information due to business violations and other issues. In 2019, Qifa Information's revenue was 12.5 billion yuan, down 70% year-on-year;Net profit 1798610,000 yuan, compared with 2 in 2018500 million yuan of net profit**928％。Due to problems such as violations, a large number of complaints, and declining profits, the "second white bar" has been taken offline.
The issue of whether Qitian Technology is related to the "illegal lending" of Li Delong and others has also attracted attention. Documentary evidence has confirmed that the income involved in the case flowed to Qitian Technology.
On July 1, 2022, the People's Procuratorate of Yandu District, Yancheng City, issued a "Reply Letter" to the families of the six defendants, stating that the evidence in this case shows that the income of the APP involved in the case flowed into Qitian Technology Company, as well as into the private accounts of Li Delong, Liu Biao and others, and not all of them flowed into Qitian Technology Company.
According to a "reply letter" made by the People's Procuratorate of Yandu District, Yancheng City, the evidence in this case shows that part of the income of the APP involved in the case flows into Qitian Technology. Photographer Zhou Qunfeng.
It is worth noting that during the trial of the case, the control of Qitian Technology changed. In September 2021, the controlling shareholder of Qitian Technology was changed from Liu Tao and his concerted actor Shanghai Zhenyuan Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) to Yancheng Yannan Xinglu Industrial Investment** (Limited Partnership), and the actual controller was no longer Liu Tao.
Who is the "main culprit"?
On November 6, during the second-instance trial of the case, Li Delong and Liu Biao again claimed that their online lending business was under the command of Liu Tao. If they are found guilty of a crime, no other suspects should be left out. Even if they are involved, they should not be the main culprits.
In the first instance of the case, the prosecutor produced a "Statement of Circumstances" issued by Qitian Technology, saying that although Qiji Intelligent was the major shareholder of Qifa Information, it was "only a financial investor", "did not participate in business management and daily operations", and "did not sign any cooperation agreement with Liu Yi and Li Delong".
Li Delong's father, Li Rongzhuang, and other family members of the defendants said that the statement was not signed by anyone and did not affix an official seal.
The family members of several defendants said that after Liu Tao, the then chairman of Qitian Technology, signed the "Cooperation Framework Agreement" with Li Delong and Liu Biao, Liu Tao and Liu Biao had very close contacts. Their WeChat chat records show that Liu Tao called Liu Biao "Liuliu" and "Liuzong", and Liu Biao called Liu Tao "Tao Zong". Liu Tao has put forward "work requirements" to Liu Biao many times.
On the afternoon of November 10, 2017, Liu Tao and Liu Biao sent a WeChat message asking them to "register shell companies in several places and catch up with all profits".On January 3, 2019, Liu Tao and Liu Bi sent a WeChat message saying, "After going through so much, I hope that you and Liuliu will not have two hearts and obey my series of adjustments in the New Year." Champion me and do great things. ”
On April 25, 2018, Liu Tao asked Liu Bi, "Give me the simplest logic, how much is the cycle and how much profit is brought in a stable situation, in months." Liu Biao replied, "After meeting the basic cost, it can bring at least 5 per month, and the current operating state has fully met the basic operating cost, 100 million will bring at least 500w (10,000) per month, and the normal will be 700w (10,000). After Liu Tao saw this message, he gave Liu Biao a thumbs up WeChat emoji. Liu Tao also encouraged Liu Bi, "You are not fighting alone!."We're all trying to get the shells. ”
Liu Zhengming said that since his son was arrested, he has been to Shanghai more than 10 times. The front desk and security guards of Qitian Technology turned him away on the grounds that "if it is something unrelated to the company, I can't see Liu Tao".
The "Criminal Complaint" jointly written by Liu Zhengming and Li Rongzhuang stated that Liu Tao was the initiator of the online lending platform, the fund provider, the profit collector, and the controller of the entire lending behavior, and was the real main culprit in Li Delong's case, and he should be investigated for criminal responsibility for suspected fraud.
The above-mentioned "Reply Letter" issued by the People's Procuratorate of Yandu District, Yancheng City, stated that "during the handling of the case, the public security organs have been requested to further investigate whether other persons are suspected of committing crimes, and there is no problem of double-standard case handling."
Li Rongzhuang said that on December 12, he called a person surnamed Xiong who investigated the case in Yancheng to ask about Liu Tao's related issues, and the other party replied that "it is still investigating".
The official website of Qitian Technology once issued a document saying that after the introduction of state-owned controlling shareholders, it is "vigorously building Yancheng headquarters". Qitian Technology Yancheng is headquartered in Yandu District, Yancheng City, and there are corporate honors such as "China's Internet Outstanding Enterprise" and "China's Top 100 Science and Technology Innovation Enterprises" written on the display board at the company's entrance.
Qitian Technology Yancheng is headquartered in Innovation Building, Yandu District, Yancheng City. Photographer Zhou Qunfeng.
A person in charge of the company said that although it is called the headquarters of Yancheng on the official website of Qitian Technology, it is still only an office. He also said that Liu Tao is no longer involved in the business of Qitian Technology. "(Liu Tao) is still the vice chairman of Qitian Technology because he is still a shareholder after all. ”
The person in charge also said that the senior management team of Qitian Technology basically came in after 2019, and Liu Tao's previous related business was not done under the enterprise system.
Tianyan check shows that Liu Tao currently holds 846 of Qitian Technology shares, with a shareholding of 5575860,000 shares, is the second largest shareholder of Qitian Technology.
Issued in 202312.25. The 1122nd issue of China News Weekly.
Magazine title: The "main culprit" behind a fraud case.
Reporter: Zhou Qunfeng.