POLICE picked up 120 suspects in connection with illegal securities activities involving up to 30 million yuan (US$4.56 million) Tuesday.
The suspects were caught in police raids on eight unlicensed stock consultancy firms in three hours. More than 100 police and officers from the market supervision administration and the securities regulatory authority took part in the raids.
Employees of the unlicensed firms were not qualified for stock consultation. The so-called senior financial analysts turned out to be holders of associate college degrees and the holders of Ph.D.s in finance were people who had attended just three days of training.
The companies claimed in brochures that their offices were in high-end office buildings, but law enforcement officers found they were actually in residential buildings and some had offices in the suburbs. To avoid authorities, they would move their operations every few months.
Initial investigations found the illegal companies had profited by illegally recommending stocks and then splitting the profits with their clients. Their business also included selling stock analysis software, conducting training sessions to recommend stocks to trainees and wealth management.
Police did not say how many people had been caught up in the illegal business. (SD News)
