广东邦家案24人因集资诈骗被判刑

A court in southern China has jailed 24 people for defrauding investors of nearly Rmb10bn ($1.5bn), the latest in a series of financial scams that have proliferated in the country’s unruly and largely unregulated shadow banking sector.

华南一家法庭以诈骗投资者近100亿元人民币（合15亿美元）的罪名判24人入狱，这是中国不守法且基本不受监管的影子银行业频发的一连串金融欺诈案的最新一例。

The official Xinhua news agency said 230,000 investors, mainly senior citizens and many of whom invested their life savings, were affected by the scam in the decade to 2012, making it one of the largest to be made public.

官方的新华社报道，在截至2012年的十年里，23万名投资者受到了这一诈骗案的影响，令该案成为曝光的最大诈骗案之一。这些投资者主要是老年人，许多人把毕生的储蓄都投了进去。

The court found that Guangdong Bangjia Leasing Co set up four businesses in the southern province that borders Hong Kong, along with branches and subsidiaries across China, luring investors with promises of returns of up to 47 per cent a year.

法庭判决称，广东邦家租赁有限公司(Guangdong Bangjia Leasing Co)在毗邻香港的广东省设立了4家公司，还在全国各地设立了多家分公司及子公司，以高达一年47%的回报承诺引诱投资者投资。

The case highlights the financial risks of the loosely regulated wealth management products industry, which often targets retail investors who have little financial sophistication. Beijing is concerned that popular discontent at such frauds will spill over into social unrest.

该案凸显出中国监管宽松的理财产品产业存在的金融风险，该产业往往瞄准那些缺乏金融常识的散户投资者。中国政府担心，公众对这类欺诈案的不满会演变为社会不安定。

In February, authorities arrested 21 officials of Ezubao, once China’s biggest peer-to-peer lending platform, which collected $7.6bn in less than two years from more than 900,000 investors. That scandal sparked a protest in Beijing last month but news of protests is promptly removed if it appears online.

今年2月，中国有关部门逮捕了E租宝(Ezubao)的21名高层人员。E租宝一度是中国最大的P2P借贷平台，在不到两年里从逾90万投资者集资76亿美元。这一丑闻曾在上个月在北京引发抗议活动，不过有关抗议活动的新闻在网上出现后很快就被撤下。

Beijing, already on the defensive over its management of the volatile stock market and the slowing economy, is worried that financial scandals could threaten banking sector stability.

已经因为其对股市动荡及经济放缓的处理而处于守势的北京方面，担心金融丑闻可能危及银行业的稳定。

P2P lenders, which grew out of investor hunger for wealth management products, are supposed to invest the money they raise into financial products issued by third parties, such as property developers. According to industry estimates, as many as a third of China’s 3,800 registered P2P lenders have run into financial difficulties as economic growth slows.

中国投资者对理财产品的渴望催生了P2P贷款机构，它们理应把筹得的资金投入房地产开发商等第三方发行的金融产品。根据业内的估计，随着经济增长放缓，中国3800家注册在案的P2P贷款机构中，多达三分之一已陷入财务困境。

The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court on Monday sentenced the main suspect in the Guangdong fraud, Jiang Hongwei, to life in prison, while the others received terms ranging from three to 14 years, Xinhua said.

据新华社报道，广州市中级人民法院周一判处广东邦家案主犯蒋洪伟无期徒刑，其他人员则被判处3至14年的有期徒刑。

The court froze and seized assets including 127 vehicles and 43 villas, but prosecutors said few victims might get their money back, since Jiang had squandered millions on luxuries.

法院冻结和没收的资产包括127辆车和43套别墅。不过检方表示，由于蒋洪伟已将数百万元挥霍在奢侈品上，几乎没有受害者能拿回自己的资金。