Exclusive: Chinese Illegal Margin Financing Mastermind Surrenders U.K. Assets

Four years after fleeing China, Song Shijie, the founder of the now-defunct Beijing shadow lending platform Yueda, faces serious legal troubles stemming from alleged illegal securities trading and money laundering. Recently, Song surrendered assets totaling £16.7 million ($22.5 million) to the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA), including a luxury residence and six London apartments. The NCA suspects these properties were purchased with proceeds from unauthorized financial activities in China, specifically unlicensed securities trading. Song could not offer a credible explanation for the origins of the funds used, and the investigation was coordinated with China’s Ministry of Public Security[para. 1][para. 2][para. 3].

After escaping China in 2021, Song became involved in a cryptocurrency money laundering case worth around $10 million. His criminal issues extend back several years; Song has been wanted by Shanghai police and investigated by the Anhui branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). After a probe concluded in 2023, the Anhui regulator fined Song 22 million yuan ($3.1 million) and confiscated his illegal earnings after determining that in early 2019 Song had manipulated the stock prices and trading volumes of two listed companies, making about 11 million yuan in illegal profits. Authorities published a public notice to compel payment after failing to locate him[para. 4][para. 5][para. 6].

Song is a native of Henan born in 1989. He launched Yueda in the 2010s, initially offering margin financing for futures traders, but around 2014 the business pivoted to illegal stock margin financing—a shadow lending practice that became widespread in China before the 2015 stock market crash. Yueda reportedly enabled investors to leverage five times their capital for stock trades and ten times for futures, and by 2018, the company’s total margin financing exceeded 30 billion yuan. The business model shifted financial risk to borrowers through contracts demanding an annualized interest rate of 16% upfront[para. 7][para. 8][para. 9][para. 10].

Yueda signed financing contracts through agents, complicating enforcement for investors who ultimately saw their funds deposited in accounts controlled by Yueda. According to court documents and interviews, many investors faced severe difficulties, including frozen funds and unauthorized password changes. Despite no promise that Yueda would share profits, borrowers often saw part of their earnings withheld. Mounting complaints drew regulatory scrutiny, landing Yueda on a CSRC blacklist in 2020[para. 11][para. 12][para. 13][para. 14].

After his company collapsed, Song fled to the U.K. in 2021, reportedly using passports from Vanuatu and Saint Kitts and Nevis, while retaining Chinese citizenship. He initially stayed in the U.K. on a visitor visa, but failed attempts at securing a high-skilled investor visa forced him to flee to Ireland. In April 2023, the NCA froze his U.K. bank accounts, suspecting the funds were linked to criminal conduct. While Song hired top legal representation, his lawyer declined comment[para. 15][para. 16][para. 17][para. 18][para. 19].

U.K. authorities did not confirm whether the seized assets would be returned to China, stating only that repatriation and possible extradition are matters for the Home Office. Notably, after leaving China, Song became involved in a U.S. cryptocurrency fraud investigated by U.S. authorities—about $5 million from illicit proceeds ended up in Song’s Binance account. He reached a civil settlement with the U.S. government, relinquishing his claims on the funds, while the court dropped charges and did not allege Song orchestrated the fraud[para. 20][para. 21][para. 22][para. 23].