Beijing police have opened a criminal investigation into companies linked to CreditEase after the wealth-management group told clients that its “fixed-income” products had effectively defaulted and that the business may be insolvent. The Chaoyang branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau said it had placed CreditEase’s 53-year-old actual controller, surnamed Tang, 51-year-old Zhao, and other suspects under criminal coercive measures, a Chinese legal step that can include restrictions on movement, bail conditions, detention, or formal arrest.
The investigation follows months of suspended payments affecting a large pool of clients who bought products marketed as fixed-income investments. In a message distributed through the Ruicheng and Yiren Youxuan apps on Oct. 11, CreditEase apologized and said an initial review by third-party asset-verification and financial-due-diligence providers indicated the group may be insolvent.
The company cited contraction in its inclusive-finance and wealth-management operations, weak profitability, losses across several business lines, depressed asset-disposal prices, and a lack of effective funding channels. It did not provide a final repayment ratio or timetable for restoring payments.
Police have not disclosed the suspected offenses, the full scope of the investigation, or the value of assets that may be available for recovery. The criminal case places the group’s remaining assets, management decisions and historical fund flows under greater official scrutiny as clients seek repayment.
Payment halt preceded the police case
CreditEase began suspending payments in May. On May 22, the group said its fixed-income products would enter what it called a “benign exit” process, with all payments halted while it developed a plan expected within four to six weeks.
That timetable was not met. Nearly five months later, the Oct. 11 client message acknowledged that the products had effectively defaulted.
Public reporting put the amount affected at roughly 30 billion yuan. A former employee cited in those reports estimated outstanding balances of 40 billion to 50 billion yuan, involving almost 100,000 clients. The gap between those figures has not been resolved in official disclosures, and authorities have yet to publish a verified total.
The products’ stated underlying assets included consumer-finance loans, vehicle-secured lending, supply-chain finance, financial leasing and agriculture-related claims. Some offerings advertised expected annualized returns ranging from 4.6% to 10.5%, according to the company’s product materials described in public reports.
The combination of suspended redemptions, possible insolvency and a criminal investigation changes the practical path for clients. A company-led restructuring would generally focus on negotiated repayment and asset sales, while a police case can bring asset preservation, investigation of suspected misconduct and potential recovery proceedings alongside any civil claims.
Listed credit arm reports sharp revenue decline
CreditEase was founded in 2006 by Tang after his career in investment banking and corporate roles. The company built its early business in lending before expanding into wealth management, equity investment and technology-focused financial services.
Its online lending platform, YirenDai, launched in 2012 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2015. The listing made YirenDai the first Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform to trade publicly in the United States.
The group’s publicly traded credit division has also reported worsening financial performance. In its second-quarter 2026 financial results, the company reported a net loss of 449.6 million yuan, while total net revenue fell 46% from a year earlier. Those figures reflect pressure in the listed business but do not independently establish the size or cause of the fixed-income repayment shortfall.
CreditEase’s client notice tied the default to operational contraction and weak asset values rather than a single failed transaction or investment. That description points toward a balance-sheet problem: assets may be difficult to sell quickly or may realize less cash than their stated value, while payment obligations to product holders continue to fall due.
Venture portfolio included several crypto-linked companies
CreditEase developed an overseas fintech venture portfolio through its investment funds. In 2016, it said its “new finance” industry investment fund had reached $1 billion. Disclosed holdings over time included payments company Marqeta, institutional bond-trading platform Trumid and identity-verification company Onfido.
The group also participated in several companies with direct links to blockchain and digital-asset markets.
CreditEase joined Circle’s $60 million strategic financing round in 2016 alongside IDG, Breyer Capital, Baidu, CICC ALPHA, China Everbright and Wanxiang. Circle launched the USDC stablecoin in September 2018, two years after that financing. Circle’s 2026 public shareholder disclosures do not list CreditEase or affiliated entities among its current major holders; named major holders include IDG-related funds, BlackRock, General Catalyst, Chuang Xi Capital and Circle Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire.
CreditEase’s fintech fund listed Figure as a portfolio company in April 2019 and again in its published 2020 holdings. Figure has described using blockchain-based systems for whole-loan transactions and securitization through its Figure Connect platform.
In August 2021, Matrixport said CreditEase’s fund participated in its $100 million Series C financing, which valued the company at more than $1 billion. Matrixport said at the time that its client assets under management and custody exceeded $10 billion as of March 2021, with monthly trading volume across its products of about $5 billion.
CreditEase also participated in Cashmere’s $3 million seed round in August 2022. Cashmere provides Solana-focused enterprise multisignature wallet technology. In June 2023, Poko said CreditEase joined its $4.5 million seed round.
No disclosed link between the default and crypto assets
Neither Beijing police nor CreditEase has linked the repayment shortfall to cryptocurrency investments, token holdings, stablecoins or on-chain transfers. The information released so far does not indicate that client funds from the fixed-income products were used to acquire digital assets.
That distinction limits the immediate relevance of the case for crypto markets, despite CreditEase’s past venture investments in Circle, Matrixport, Cashmere and other technology companies. Any effect on those portfolio companies would depend on whether CreditEase or its affiliates still hold equity stakes and whether those holdings become part of asset-disposal or recovery efforts.
The police investigation now centers attention on CreditEase’s core wealth-management liabilities and the assets backing them. For affected clients, the next consequential disclosures are likely to concern the alleged conduct under investigation, the verified size of the repayment gap, and the process for preserving and recovering assets.
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