Photo/Shetuwang

May 10（NBD）--On May 8th, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Public Security in China issued a wanted circular for special criminal syndicate, involving 20 relevant offenders at large.

Among the wanted list, the Number 14, Zhu Shengqing who is a Yale University and Oxford University postgraduate, captured attention especially. 

Besides his eye-catching academic background, National Business Daily (NBD) noticed Zhu Shengqing is the son of Zhu Zhiping who has made into the Hurun Global Rich List for ten consecutive years. In 2018, Zhu Zhiping, president of real estate firm Tongfang Unite, ranked 1286th in the 2019 Hurun Global Rich List, with his wealth then reaching 2 billion U.S. dollars. 

Although the authorities have not announced the detailed reason in the wanted circular demanding Zhu Shengqing's arrest, it is allegedly to be related to his company Tongniu Tech, according to several media outlets. 

In July 2016, Zhu Shengqing started Tongniu Tech engaging in fintech services. The firm then launched its cash loan product called Tongniu Quick Loans, identified as illegal online payday loans by law. Rumor has it that Tongniu Tech's violent way of dealing with overdue payments caused the death of a debtor, which was the alleged reason for Zhu Shengqing's arrest order in media reports.

Tongniu Quick Loans demands borrowers to pay back all their debts within 7 days at excessively high interest rate. Similar products to Tongniu Quick Loans are dubbed "714 missile lending", so-called because they are typically due in 7 or 14 days.

On March 15th, the state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) uncovered illegal online payday loans ——"714 missile lending" and a batch of predatory lenders in its recently annual Consumer Rights Day gala, including New York-listed company Rong360, Baidu-backed Duxiaoman, Bytedance and etc. 

In its two-hour special program, CCTV interviewed a woman Dong from Changchun in the Northeast region of China. She initially borrowed 7,000 yuan ($1,028) while her debt ballooned to 500,000 yuan ($74,417) in just three months. She and her family and friends were constantly harassed by the debt collectors via telephone calls.

CCTV's exposure of "714 missile lending" provoked public outcry and drew the attention from the regulators. Later, the government-led agency National Internet Finance Association of China called for thorough investigations into companies in the sector. All member companies of the association were required to report the results of their internal inspections and any non-compliant acts from their business partners.

Despite CCTV exposure and ensuing clean-up measures by the government, variations of "714 missile lending" has emerged. 

NBD noticed that some lenders replace the term "714" with "815" or "613" in a bid to escape government inspections. Others may extend the repayment period to 30 days while the interest rate remains the same. Besides, some cash loans platforms offer various discounts, attempting to shield their essence of illegal high-interest cash lending.

Although some consumers claiming they were tricked into taking out the loans, many others who were unwilling to borrow from family or friends resorted to the lending platforms.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn