China Detains CEO Of US-Listed P2P Firm Fincera 

In a crackdown against peer-to-peer lending, Chinese law enforcement officers raided the Beijing offices of a New York-listed lending company and have detained the chairman for suspected financial crimes, reported the Financial Times.

Li Yonghui, the chairman of Fincera, was detained in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang on Friday morning, has been accused of illegal acceptance of public funds.

China detains CEO of US-listed P2P firm Fincera for suspected financial crime https://t.co/blSFpmmeUF pic.twitter.com/Qf2mxPvIFM

— CNA (@ChannelNewsAsia) December 13, 2019

FT said nearly two dozen officers raided Fincera’s Beijing offices on Friday.

The company’s chief technology officer and vice-president were also detained at their homes in Beijing in the early morning.

Yonghui is a Canadian national, and his whereabouts are still unknown, but according to his son, he was detained by authorities.

Fincera’s stock trades over the counter in New York and has seen a 65% drop in market value this year.

China’s peer-to-peer lending is contracting after years of rapid growth. The government started cracking down on the industry in 2018.

Fincera is one of the largest lending platforms in Hebei province by loans.

The Embassy of Canada to China has yet to confirm the arrest.