In Depth: Art Fraud Lifts Lid on Illegal Public Fundraising

When retired teacher Zhang Yanli invested millions of yuan in calligraphy and paintings, she didn’t expect that her art would remain out of sight, let alone vanish completely.

Despite all the money she spent, Zhang never saw any of the art she bought as it was kept for safekeeping by the local artwork management company that facilitated the deal.

Their agreement noted that she would receive an annual return on investment of more than 10%. But since August 2018, she had received zero returns and couldn’t even get her principal back.