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Superstar
Several months ago we discussed the Chinese straddling bus. This from BBC today:
"Police in Beijing have arrested 32 people for illegal fundraising linked to a scrapped project to create a "straddling bus" to beat traffic jams.
The futuristic idea to lift commuters above congestion quickly attracted international attention when it was launched last year - but was finally scrapped last month.
There had been growing speculation that it was no more than an investment scam.
In a statement, police said they were working to recover investors' assets.
China has seen a series of scams where online platforms offer big returns on money invested into start-ups, an area mostly ignored by the country's state-run banks.
Among those arrested was Bai Zhiming, the 47-year-old CEO of the Transit Elevated Bus Company (TEB) who is also the founder of peer-to-peer financing company Huaying Kailai Asset Management.
The other 31 were Huaying Kailai employees.
Investors had reportedly been offered returns of 12% if they put money into the project, but allegations in the Chinese media had said it had been a way of luring them into buying financial products.
See: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40492697
"Police in Beijing have arrested 32 people for illegal fundraising linked to a scrapped project to create a "straddling bus" to beat traffic jams.
The futuristic idea to lift commuters above congestion quickly attracted international attention when it was launched last year - but was finally scrapped last month.
There had been growing speculation that it was no more than an investment scam.
In a statement, police said they were working to recover investors' assets.
China has seen a series of scams where online platforms offer big returns on money invested into start-ups, an area mostly ignored by the country's state-run banks.
Among those arrested was Bai Zhiming, the 47-year-old CEO of the Transit Elevated Bus Company (TEB) who is also the founder of peer-to-peer financing company Huaying Kailai Asset Management.
The other 31 were Huaying Kailai employees.
Investors had reportedly been offered returns of 12% if they put money into the project, but allegations in the Chinese media had said it had been a way of luring them into buying financial products.
See: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40492697