61 tried in six-day contract fraud case

Sixty-one suspects stood trial in Beijing on Thursday, the sixth day in what the No 1 Intermediate People's Court said was the largest-ever case of contract fraud since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The 61 suspects siphoned off more than 80 million yuan ($12 million) from 259 people between 2013 and 2014, according to the indictment provided by the First Branch of the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate.

They were alleged to have worked for a private internet service provider named Zhongwanghuying Internet Co, but they told their clients the company was run by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.