China arrests 52 Singaporeans in Guangxi pyramid scheme crackdown
The detentions come amid a broader push by Beijing to curb illicit financial schemes and cross‑border fraud networks
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Police Force revealed the arrests in a joint statement on Friday, noting that Chinese authorities were still investigating the cases.
Sim Ann, Singapore’s second minister for foreign affairs, said consular officers from the country’s embassy in Beijing and its consulate in Guangzhou had visited all 52 detainees to check on their well‑being, assist with administrative matters and relay messages between the detainees and their families.
Sim, who is also second minister for home affairs, has met relatives of most of the detainees to offer support during what she called an “understandably difficult time”.
While officials did not give details of the operations involved, multilevel marketing scams – such as the long-running “1040 Sunshine Engineering” scheme – have repeatedly been targeted in police crackdowns in Guangxi.
