Summary of the Core Content
This news report focuses on the collapse of illegal gold trading platforms in the Shuibei area of Shenzhen: A large number of ordinary investors, including office workers, new mothers, and students, were attracted by high leverage and false advertising. They invested their savings—even the money from selling their homes—and lost all their money due to the platforms engaging in “gambling” arrangements and not depositing their funds with legitimate exchanges. As gold prices rose, their capital chains broke, resulting in total losses. Some victims found it extremely difficult to recover any of their principal; regulatory authorities have taken action to rectify the situation, and there have been new developments in both industry and judicial responses.
I. The Deceptive Tactics of Illegal Gold Trading Platforms: High Leverage + Gambling + False Promotion
The tricks used by these platforms are actually quite straightforward and aggressive:
1. High leverage temptation: For example, you can “lock in” 1 gram of gold for just 20 yuan (equivalent to a leverage of 50)—you pay a deposit of 10,000 yuan and can bet on the rise or fall of 1 kilogram of gold (at 500 yuan per gram, so 1 kilogram would be worth 500,000 yuan, with a leverage of 50). If the price goes up, you make a profit; if it goes down, you lose your entire deposit.
2. Essentially gambling: The platforms do not invest the money in legitimate gold exchanges (such as the Shanghai Gold Exchange) but create their own “electronic trading platforms” to gamble against investors. The money you lose is what the platforms earn; if you win, the platforms either manipulate the system to cause you to lose all your funds or simply disappear.
3. False promotion to gain trust: They claim to have state-owned enterprise backing (for instance, Jie Wairui claimed to have such support, but it was false), show screenshots of “physical stores/factories” that are actually stolen from others, and use pawns in online groups to post fake profit screenshots. They may also allow you to buy small amounts of physical gold initially to build your trust before asking for larger investments.
II. The Root Cause of the Collapse: Rising Gold Prices Popped the “Bubble”
Why did the collapses occur more frequently in the second half of 2025? It’s because gold prices kept rising:
- The platforms were essentially engaging in a form of “market manipulation.” When prices fell, they could buy gold at low prices to cover their losses; but when prices rose, customers made profits, and the platforms had to pay out large sums without any proper hedging measures (such as buying futures on the Shanghai Gold Exchange). Their capital pools quickly dried up.
- Jie Wairui is a typical example: In early 2026, with high gold price fluctuations, many investors wanted to cash out, and the platform’s model of using new funds to cover old debts became unsustainable, leading to its collapse. The incident involved 13.3 billion yuan and affected 100,000 people.
III. The Hardship of Investors: Losing Their Money and Fighting for Compensation
For ordinary investors who get scammed, recovering their money is an almost impossible task:
- Money cannot be recovered: For example, Han Meijia sold her only home and invested 3 million yuan, but the platform only compensated her with 10% of that amount (300,000 yuan). Liu Xiaoying was lucky to recover 60% of her principal.
- The path to compensation is full of obstacles: After the platforms collapse, their addresses are fake, and the funds are spread across company accounts, shareholders’ personal accounts, and related entities, making them impossible to trace. Some victims even end up dealing with fake lawyers who steal additional money from them.
- The psychological impact is severe: Han Meijia was so scared that she didn’t dare to tell her parents and had to run around Shuibei 30 times before being hospitalized; Xiao Ming (a local merchant) said, “No one trusts anything anymore.”
IV. Regulatory and Industry Changes: Pre-set Prices Are Prohibited, and Merchants Are More Cautious
After the collapse, regulatory authorities and the industry took action:
- New regulations: Prohibitions on pre-set prices and high leverage; no illegal trading through live broadcasts or mini-programs; no impersonation of Shanghai Gold Exchange members. The Shuibei market now constantly displays warnings against gambling-style transactions.
- Merchants are more cautious: In the past, merchants would disappear after a platform collapsed; now many pretend to be broke and offer partial refunds in installments. They prefer to buy from platforms with Shanghai Gold Exchange qualifications or state-owned enterprise backing, or they revert to the traditional model of “payment upon delivery.”
V. Changes in Judicial Handling: Platforms Are Held More Liable, and Compensation Ratios Have Increased
In the past two years, court rulings in such cases have changed:
- Previously: Both investors and platforms were held responsible, with the platform paying 50%-70% of the losses.
- Now: The courts recognize that platforms, as the rule-makers, bear more responsibility, and are more likely to order them to pay 100% of the losses. For example, in Liu Xiaoying’s case, it was determined that the platform bore most of the blame for luring ordinary investors into the scheme.
However, it’s important to note that if victims sign agreements for partial refunds in installments, the cases are classified as economic disputes, and the platforms can avoid criminal liability (thus avoiding imprisonment). As a result, many platforms now deliberately act in a way that leads to their failure.
Final Warning
Ordinary people should avoid high-leverage gold trading! Legitimate gold investments should involve buying physical gold from banks or reputable gold stores, or purchasing gold ETFs through securities accounts. Any promises of “low investment, high returns” are likely scams. Especially if you are selling your home or taking out loans to invest, be very cautious—there are no free lunches; what seems like a good opportunity is often just a trap.