Fifty-six people have been arrested in central China after police busted a 66,000-member strong gang involved in carrying out false propaganda, a media report said today.
The gang leader surnamed Sun founded two companies in the name of his father and mother-in-law in November last year in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, and falsely claimed to be part of China Unicom.
Sun and others used a server in Hong Kong and carried out false propaganda and set up a platform for gang members to get returns, said the Public Security Bureau of Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Seven suspects were arrested in April by police in Xintian County in Yongzhou.
Major organisers were arrested in June in Guangxi, Henan and Sichuan. Sun also handed himself to police.
The gang called pyramid scheme asked people to pay 9,999 yuan (USD 1,600) each to become members, coaxing them to attract others to join through rewards and promotions, police said.
Some 66,000 people from 20 provinces or regions became members of the ring with a total fund of USD 103.9 million.
Police have frozen the huge assets of the gang.
