Beijing People's Procuratorate has instituted proceedings against companies and individuals involved in the high-profile fraud case of China's largest online peer-to-peer lending platform, Ezubao.
Earlier investigations indicated Ezubao had cheated approximately 900,000 investors out of roughly 60 billion yuan (8.6 billion USD) during its 18-months in operation.
It was shut down by police in December last year after conducting transactions involving 70 billion yuan.
Ezubao's parent companies Yucheng Holdings and Yucheng Global, along with 10 individuals, will stand trial on charges of fraudulent fund-raising, while 16 other individuals face charges of illegal pooling of public deposits.
The authorities described the case as nothing more than a Ponzi scheme, where returns are paid by money from new investors, rather than from profits earned through legitimate sources.
Police previously said that Ezubao made up fake projects to attract investment and pocketed funds instead of generating returns through lending.
It promised investors returns of up to 14.6 percent a year, much higher than they could get at banks. In the event of the investment project turning sour, Ezubao promised to return the initial capital invested, with interest at the average bank rate.
But most of the money went into the pockets of company executives.
Said to be China's biggest-ever Ponzi scheme, the case has sparked concerns over China's booming online finance industry and led to a series of new restrictions to tame the sector and limit risks to investors.
