LaLiga Santander: Real Sociedad suspends partnership with Qbao.com, accused of fraud in China

Real Sociedad (LaLiga Santander) has temporarily suspended its main sponsorship agreement with Qbao.com, a Chinese mobile platform specialising in online trading and financial services, on 29/12/2017. The decision follows the arrest of Zhang Xiaolei, the CEO of Qbao, the day prior by Nanjing police, as part of an investigation for a pyramid scheme and fraud.

In April 2017, Chinese authorities placed Qbao on the list of companies in violation of Chinese commercial law, while the company was unable to provide a domiciliation address. In August 2017, Qbao users complained that they could no longer withdraw their money from the site and reported that the company's headquarters in Shanghai had closed down.

Qbao (or Qianbao, the Chinese name of the group) works on the principle of a club reserved for paying members. For a registration fee of 100,000 yuan (about €12,800 on 02/01/2018), members of Qbao.com can expect to earn between €500 and €1200 per month by watching advertising content, responding to questionnaires, investing in financial products, or performing other activities on the…