Claiming to be a state-owned enterprise under special management, Zhongzhan Huaxin Group's illegal fundraising explosion investigation: shareholder is a public institution, Liu Bi'an | Marilai | Changsha | Public opinion | Investment | Investor | Strategy | Group

The landing of boots is the least desirable outcome for investors.

On August 5th, a police report released by the Kaifu Branch of Changsha Public Security Bureau made Zhang Ju's heart sink. The report states that Zhongzhan Huaxin Group Co., Ltd. illegally absorbed funds from the public in its Hunan subsidiary, with a huge amount. The police have filed an investigation into its illegal fundraising behavior. Liu Bian, the legal representative of Zhongzhan Group, and Pu, a senior executive, have been subjected to criminal coercive measures.

After defending her rights for four months, Zhang Ju finally received an explanation - the police have filed a criminal case. From December last year to January this year, Zhang Ju invested 6 million yuan in Zhongzhan Group, and the other party promised a 13% annual return rate. However, it could not be redeemed in April this year. In addition to large investors like Zhang Ju, there are also a large number of small investors who invest tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan to purchase bare diamonds, gold bars, or jewelry on the platform of Zhongzhan Group in order to obtain investment returns.

The investigation of Zhongzhan Group's subsidiary in Hunan by the police also means that the high returns expected by these investors have turned into nothing, and the amount of capital invested can be recovered is also unknown.

Pengpai News has learned from relevant sources that the non absorption amount of Zhongzhan Group in its Hunan subsidiary may reach billions, but the specific amount is yet to be audited.

Public information shows that Zhongzhan Group is a 100% controlled enterprise by the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center of a public institution. Its main subsidiaries in Hunan are Hunan Marilai Jewelry Group Co., Ltd. and Changsha Taxus Asset Management Co., Ltd. In the subsequent "Registration Announcement of Fundraising Participants" released by the police, these two companies are the main entities engaged in illegal fundraising.

"We were deceived by the hat of a state-owned enterprise," said a victim who invested 2 million yuan. Previously, many people believed that Zhongzhan Group was a state-owned enterprise and would not collapse. After Changsha Shanda Jinxifei detonated the mine in November last year, the company also absorbed a large amount of funds.

"Stable Win Securities"

The Hunan Marilai Jewelry Building is located on Furong Middle Road in Changsha, which was once known as the Financial Street in Changsha. On the afternoon of August 6th, a reporter from Pengpai News saw on site that the side of the building near the main road was all blocked by layers of fences, and the balcony behind it had been fenced off to prevent anyone from flipping into the building through the balcony.

Through the fence, the reporter saw that there was an elevator inside, with a "China War Huaxin Group" plaque hanging on one side of the wall, and the four big characters "Honest Lover" written on the opposite side.

At around 6 pm that day, several workers were dismantling the fence. On August 5th, the above-mentioned police report from Changsha police brought an end to the crowds that had been gathering in this building for several days.

Pengpai News previously learned that since the mid April redemption crisis of the War Group this year, investors have successively come to the Marilyn Building to defend their rights.

Investor's Purchase of Bare Diamond Agreement

Since the end of March this year, there have been over 40 related comments in the "Wen Zheng Hunan" column. According to a survey by Pengpai News, the non absorption issues involved by Zhongzhan Group in Hunan mainly fall into two categories: one is large-scale investment, signing projects starting from one million yuan with a term of 1-3 years, and committing annualized interest rates ranging from 11% to 15%, some even up to 18%; The second is to pre order gold bars, bare diamonds, and jewelry on the Marilyn V lifestyle platform, with promised annualized interest rates ranging from 10% to 13%. The investment amount can range from tens of thousands of yuan to tens of millions of yuan.

According to subsequent reports from the Changsha police, the companies involved in illegal fundraising by Zhongzhan Group in Hunan Company are Hunan Marilai Jewelry Group Co., Ltd. and Changsha Taxus Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Pengpai News found that Zhongzhan Group has also fully invested in multiple companies, including Shenzhen Marilai Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Sichuan Shida Carbon Co., Ltd. Tianyancha shows that it has invested in 22 external institutions. According to the official website of Zhongzhan Group, it has laid out four major tracks: fintech, new materials, big health, and big consumption.

Investor's "Stable Win Securities" Agreement

Hunan investor Zhu Juan told Pengpai News that in May 2022, she signed a tripartite contract with Shenzhen Marilai Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Changsha Taxus Asset Management Co., Ltd. to subscribe to the "Targeted Securities Stable Win 15 Investment Project". She invested 1 million yuan to the second party, Shenzhen Marilai, for equity investment in the securities market, with a maturity of 2 years and a performance benchmark of 15.5%. The agreed total return upon maturity was 310000 yuan. On the day of signing this contract, a supplementary agreement was also signed, providing an unconditional and irrevocable joint and several liability guarantee for the realization of Zhu Juan's debt by Zhongzhan Group.

In December 2022, six months later, Zhu Juan once again signed the "Zhongzhan Mining Project No. 10 Subscription Contract" with Shenzhen Zhongzhan Mining Holdings Co., Ltd., which is 100% controlled by Zhongzhan Group, through Changsha Taxus Asset Management Company. She also invested 1 million yuan, with a maturity of 1 year, a benchmark performance of 11.27%, and an expected total return of 112700 yuan. Similarly, a supplementary agreement was signed to unconditionally guarantee the debt of Zhu Juan by Zhongzhan Group.

In fact, in the month when Zhu Juan signed her second large-scale investment agreement, Shanda Jinxi, also located on Furong Middle Road and only 1.2 kilometers away from the Marilai Jewelry Building, was in a state of "explosion" due to the inability to redeem billions of yuan in illegal fundraising and the loss of contact with her boss, Pan Jibiao. On December 28th of that year, the Changsha Public Security Bureau announced that the investigation into the suspected illegal fundraising of Shanda Jinxi had been initiated, and Pan Jibiao and other personnel involved in the case were arrested and brought to justice.

Chats between personnel and investors from Zhongzhan Group

"Special management of central enterprises"?

The explosion of Shanda Jinxi did not stop the illegal fundraising of Zhongzhan Group, and even absorbed a wave of "investment".

Investor Zhang Ju introduced that the sales personnel of the two subsidiaries of Zhongzhan Group in Hunan will infiltrate major fitness clubs, beauty salons, and physical and mental learning venues to get close, and then become friends with the investors. "They claim to have paid in full for eight years. After the collapse of Shanda Jinxi, they claimed to be a state-owned enterprise and very stable." Some victims also mentioned that they invested the money they had spent on treating the illness in these two subsidiaries of Zhongzhan Group, and even borrowed money from banks because they believed they were state-owned enterprises and would not collapse. ".

The plaque of Zhongzhan Huaxin Group, surging news reporter Tan Juntu

According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the wholly-owned shareholder of Zhongzhan Huaxin Group Co., Ltd. is the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center with a registered capital of 500000 yuan. The center is a non financially subsidized public institution and was established by the Council of the China Association for Strategic and Management Studies in August 2012. The China Association for Strategic and Management Studies is a first-class academic organization registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, established in 1989.

The official website of Zhongzhan Huaxin Group refers to itself as "Zhongzhan Group". In a recording provided by investors, personnel from China War Group claimed that "the supervisory unit of the Public Opinion Strategy Center is the China War Council, and China War Group is a 'special management central enterprise'.". The common language used by marketing personnel of Zhongzhan Group is "political resources will give a lot of certainty", "even if the market really encounters uncontrollable situations, there will be official guarantees."

Zhongzhan Group does not have a financial license, but often absorbs millions of yuan in funds in a single transaction. In order to dispel investors' doubts, on November 2, 2020, Zhongzhan Group requested Hunan Tiandiren Law Firm to issue a special legal opinion, proving that the Public Opinion Strategy Center is a legal entity of a public institution and the only shareholder of Zhongzhan Huaxin Asset Management Group Co., Ltd. Therefore, Zhongzhan Group is a state-owned wholly-owned enterprise.

According to the annual report of the enterprise displayed in the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, Zhongzhan Group, formerly known as Beijing Juhai Asset Management Co., Ltd., was established in 2015 and registered with three natural person shareholders who paid in 10 million yuan. In 2017, three natural person shareholders withdrew and became 100% controlled by the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center. On May 27, 2017, the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center subscribed 1.3 billion yuan and paid in 3 million yuan. That year, Zhongzhan Group, located in Chaoyang District, Beijing, fully invested in Changsha Taxus Asset Management Co., Ltd.

In 2018, the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center paid up a capital of 253 million yuan and invested in Huarong Guoxin Holdings Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Marilai Asset Management Co., Ltd., and Changsha Zhongzhan Tea Oil Co., Ltd., all of which held 100% of the shares. The company has 7 employees who have paid social security contributions. In 2019, the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center completed a paid in capital of 1.3 billion yuan, and in 2022, the number of employees of Zhongzhan Group who paid social security contributions increased to 19.

Among the main employees of Zhongzhan Group Company, Liu Bian serves as the chairman and manager, and Liu Yaogang serves as the chairman of the supervisory board. Pengpai News found that Liu Yaogang is the legal representative of the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center.Liu Bian also served as the Deputy Director of the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center.

On August 7th, Pengpai News contacted Liu Yaogang through the China Strategic and Management Research Association. When Liu Bian was mentioned, Liu Yaogang appeared angry and rudely questioned the reporter, "What qualifications do you have to call me?" The reporter said he could demonstrate his interview qualifications for a face-to-face interview, but he did not provide a meeting address and hastily hung up the phone.

Capital Bureau and Warning Letter

In the second year of Zhongzhan Group being controlled by public institutions, in 2018, Liu Bi'an and the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center were paid attention to by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

In June 2018, the listed company Hongyu New Materials issued an equity change report and proposed to change its controlling shareholder. The Securities Times reported that the transferee is the mysterious public opinion strategy research center of a public institution, and the key player is Liu Bian, a jewelry merchant from Hunan. Behind the five companies involved in the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center, including Shenzhen Marilai Assets, Changsha Taxus, Huarong Guoxin, are a bunch of P2P or financial companies with gold jewelry as the carrier, such as Gold Purchase, Guojin Institute, wutong Financial Services. As a result, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange twice inquired about the trading purpose, funding sources, and strategic public opinion center of Hongyu New Materials, as well as the relevant information of Liu Bian.

A reporter from the Securities Times once called the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center, and its staff said, "The center is a public institution, and the supervisory unit is the China Strategic and Management Research Association. Its subsidiary companies can conduct business activities, which are carried out by the subsidiary companies."

In August 2018, when * ST Kaidi attempted to save itself, it planned to sign a major restructuring framework agreement with Zhongzhan Group and Sunshine Kaidi. Zhongzhan Group, as the "White Knight", will fully participate and design a joint restructuring plan as a whole. The China War Group and the Public Opinion Strategy Research Center have once again received attention.

In the "Wen Zheng Hunan" column, a message expressed in the tone of a member of China War Group, hoping to give China War Group a chance to save itself, stated that "in the 2019 P2P incident, many P2P platforms ceased operation one after another, while China War Group's Xintoubao completed 100% of the redemption.".

Pengpai News noticed that as early as July 12, 2019, Changsha Red Forest Asset Management Company, a subsidiary of Zhongzhan Group, was issued a warning letter by the Hunan Provincial Securities Regulatory Bureau for issuing unregistered funds and promising minimum returns to investors. Subsequently, Changsha Red Forest Asset Management Co., Ltd. was deregistered. The legal representative of Red Forest is Pu Shuo. According to insiders, it was Pu Shuo who was reported by the police as the arrested executive of China War Group.

Zhu Juan told Pengpai News that she does not believe she is participating in illegal fundraising, but values the "hat" of state-owned enterprises of China War Group and their industrial projects.

In 2019, Zhongzhan Group acquired control of Sichuan Shida Carbon Co., Ltd. through layers of equity, which is an enterprise engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, and sales of new carbon materials. In addition, according to multiple official media reports, on January 3, 2023, Changchengling Rubidium Lead Zinc Antimony Polymetallic Mine of Xinlian Mining Co., Ltd. in Yizhang County, a subsidiary of Zhongzhan Group, obtained the first rubidium mining license issued nationwide. According to the official website of Zhongzhan Group, the total value of rubidium ore exceeds one trillion yuan.

Zhu Juan introduced that she has been the CEO of the company for many years and has conducted research before investing. "Without a certain level of strength, he cannot obtain this mining certificate. Rubidium ore, as a rare metal, is a national reserve resource. Because she is a state-owned enterprise, I did not hesitate to put my life and fortune together.".

However, in the eyes of a police officer, "he is just using this method to attract money.".

Self rescue and collapse

After the cash crisis in April, China War Group took two actions.

On the one hand, promote the prospects of its rubidium mine. According to the official website of the China Association for Strategic and Management Studies, on April 23, 2023, the association invited experts from multiple fields to hold a closed door seminar at the Dayuan Hotel in Beijing to deeply explore the industrial development of strategic mineral resources - rubidium. In May 2023, the China Association for Strategic and Management Research compiled and published an academic achievement collection titled "Strategic Mineral Resources - Rubidium Industry Development Closed door Seminar" in the form of a special issue of the magazine "Strategy and Management".

On the other hand, Zhongzhan Group has announced its redemption plan.

The cash redemption plan announced on May 19th this year is: for investments below 300000 yuan, the principal redemption period is from July 31st, 2023 to June 30th, 2024; For investments of 300000 yuan or more, the principal redemption period is from July 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, and will be conducted in equal installments. This plan also provides a "debt to equity" option for investors above 300000 yuan, with 30% cash and 70% debt.

During the process of waiting for redemption, the investor team split into two factions: the filing faction and the self-help faction. The filing faction constantly reports to various levels of institutions, hoping that the government can step in and help them recover losses. The self-help faction believes that the China War Group should be given time, believing that it can achieve self rescue and redeem.

Regardless of which faction, in the midst of anxiety, traces of the China War Group or the "transfer of assets, running away, and decoupling" have been discovered. For example, on June 5th this year, the Hunan Provincial Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau cancelled Hunan Yirong Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. And the company provides guarantee liability in the jewelry entrusted management contract signed by investors.

A self proclaimed investor named "Liao Xinmin" left a message in "Wen Zheng Hunan" stating that "there is serious water injection into the assets of Zhongzhan Group. Currently, the vast majority of Shida Carbon's real and movable properties have been mortgaged, and the products being produced have exceeded demand. The negative electrode material market has already had a large amount of overcapacity, and authoritative media have reported that the enterprise is facing small profits or losses, but claims to be worth 6 billion yuan." The fourth part of the rubidium ore evaluation report clearly states that the lead, zinc, and other resources of multiple metals have been mined and depleted. The main evaluation product rubidium ore has no market transaction price, but claims to be worth 60 billion yuan. The rubidium grade in rubidium ore is not high, and there is no product market. The so-called property entity has already surpassed banks. "Small loan companies and others have repeatedly pledged, with little value..."

"Liao Xinmin finally stated, 'On July 29th, Liu Bi'an admitted in a video with the client that the client's funds had not been invested in the project, which was a proper fund allocation and Ponzi scheme behavior.'"

A person familiar with the non absorption situation of Zhongzhan Group said, "Liu Bi'an has indeed invested in some industries in recent years, but the value of these industries is far lower than the amount of investment. Rubidium ore and Shida Carbon are high-quality assets, but they are far from worth several billion yuan. Most of his money is still repaid with principal and interest. He himself also said that 18% interest can be recovered in four to five years. There is no such good industry that can support a net profit of 18%."

Another official who tried to persuade the "self-help faction" said, "Rubidium ore is a strategic material that cannot be denied. The problem is that mineral mining requires a large amount of investment. Liu Bi'an argued the value of rubidium ore, but the problem is that he does not have the ability to turn the academic value on paper into real gold and silver to be redeemed to everyone."

According to insiders, on July 30th, the day before the promise was to be fulfilled, Zhongzhan Group once again introduced a small redemption plan of no more than 20000 yuan and prepared a redemption fund of 4 million yuan. However, this is like a drop in the bucket for a huge funding gap.

A few days later, on August 5th, the Kaifu Branch of Changsha Public Security Bureau issued a police intelligence report for criminal prosecution.

Pengpai News noticed that on August 4th, there were also suspected personnel from China War Group who left a message on "Wen Zheng Hunan" hoping to give them the opportunity and time to save themselves, and requested the government to stabilize the emotions of some irrational investors and regulate the negative impact of self media on China War Group and investors.

On August 5th, after the police report, Kaifu Public Security issued a registration notice for the information of fundraising participants, urging relevant personnel to register and report the case. A large investor introduced that many people have not reported the case yet, hoping that after the end of their sentence, Liu Bi'an and others will be released for self rescue.

Before filing a case with the police, Zhu Juan wanted to appeal to the court and found that according to the contract, she could only file an arbitration with the Changsha Arbitration Commission. The arbitration commission told her that the arbitration fee would be over 100000 yuan, and once a criminal case is filed, the arbitration will be suspended and the fee will not be refunded. Zhu Juan learned that another investor applied to the court for enforcement without success after winning the arbitration. At present, the Zhongzhan Group case has been established as a criminal case, and investors who have chosen the debt to equity redemption plan have not been able to register their equity. "The company has been criminally established, who will go and handle the change for you?"

"What should we do after investing so much money?" Zhu Juan said, her biggest concern now is how to maximize the recovery of her "investment funds.