Chinese police bust pyramid scheme involving $36m

NANNING - Police in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region arrested 31 suspects for organizing and leading a pyramid scheme involving more than 250 million yuan (around $36 million), local authorities said Wednesday.

Police in Pubei county discovered that many local people had participated in an online shopping platform since late June, which lured its members to sell self-claimed health-promoting products for considerable profits.

An investigation led to a suspected pyramid scheme platform that has over 8,000 members across the country. Police launched raids in several provinces on July 23 that led to the arrests.

Police also froze over 92 accounts worth 21 million yuan and seized seven vehicles and 46 computers.