BlockBeats news, on November 1, China's Shaanxi Higher People's Court released a typical case of illegally absorbing public deposits through a self-built cryptocurrency trading platform. In June 2019, defendants Shi and Zhu established an office in the Wealth Center of the High-tech Zone in Xi'an under the name of Shaanxi Silk Road Starting Point Network Technology Co., Ltd. They publicly claimed to be under the name of Zhongtou Shanqian Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd., using a self-built BRTR platform to issue and trade USDT, QC, and BRTR currencies. They later held promotional meetings in Xi'an, Chengdu, Yichang, Linyi, and other places, boasting about their company's strength, fabricating investments in cryptocurrencies, and using the bait of capital preservation with high interest and luxury car usage rights to attract public investment. According to audits, as of the occurrence of the case, a total of 114 fundraising participants reported the case, with a total fundraising amount exceeding 6.34 million yuan, of which more than 5.16 million yuan has been returned.
The court held that defendants Shi and Zhu violated the national financial management laws by indirectly absorbing funds from the public, disrupting the financial order, and have constituted the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits. Both defendants Shi and Zhu were sentenced to four years in prison for the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits and were fined.