THE trial of four suspects who allegedly defrauded 344 domestic enterprises out of almost 20 million yuan (US$3 million) began at Shenzhen Intermediate People s Court on Monday .
The accused, whose identities were not disclosed, allegedly told victims that their two companies had more than 1,700 overseas offices that could provide customers for domestic companies, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.
The suspects claimed their overseas offices had been operating for more than 30 years.
A total of 344 domestic companies were duped into signing commission contracts with the accused, paying deposits totaling more than 20 million yuan from September 1998 to September 2001.
One of the two companies allegedly claimed registered capital of 1 million yuan.
The four accused denied the charges, the paper said. The trial continues. (Li Hao)
