Large protests in Beijing, 67 people arrested.

In a late-night announcement on July 26, police in Beijing said they had arrested 67 protesters for disturbing public order.

Chinese citizens protest in Beijing on July 24. (Screenshot)

Reuters, citing sources in Beijing police, reported that some of those arrested had been released after receiving "legal education."

Meanwhile, Xinhua news agency reported that many people protested in the southern suburbs of the Chinese capital following the arrest last week of the leadership of Shanxinhui Co., Ltd.

According to Reuters, authorities blocked several roads leading into the center of China's capital, but crowds remained large.

On July 21, Xinhua News Agency published an article stating that Zhang Tianming, a representative of Tianxin Hui Co., Ltd., was suspected of involvement in criminal activities along with leaders of several other organizations, and that the suspected individuals had been subjected to coercive criminal measures.

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security concluded that the operations of Shantianhui were illegal and arrested Zhang Tianming, the company's legal representative, while also freezing Shantianhui's bank accounts.

Worried about Mr. Zhang's arrest and feeling hopeless about recovering their capital, starting on July 21st, a large number of members of the Benevolent Heart Association began traveling to Beijing to protest.

By July 24th, an estimated 60,000 people had protested in front of the Dahongmen International Exhibition Center in Beijing, demanding the release of Zhang, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

After several hours of protest on July 24th, Chinese police deployed a series of buses and transported the protesters away, dispersing the crowd.

Chinese special forces police conduct riot control drills in Beijing on July 22. Photo: REUTERS

Thien Tam Hoi is an investment program based on the principle of "rich and poor coexisting," and has attracted over 6 million members nationwide.

The model of Thien Tam Hoi has been labeled an illegal multi-level marketing scheme by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Authorities consider it a dangerous scam that exploits the gullibility and generosity of people who are attracted to the idea of ​​making money while helping others.

According to Reuters, on February 1, 2016, Chinese authorities arrested 21 people involved in a multi-level marketing scheme that had defrauded 900,000 victims of more than 50 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion).

Xinhua News Agency reported that those arrested were members of the online financial services company Ezubao.

This company promises investors returns of up to 9-14.6% per year across a range of projects. This return far exceeds many financial services offered by Chinese banks.

Since its launch in July 2014, Ezubao has attracted over 50 billion yuan from 900,000 investors. In reality, all of Ezubao's projects are shell companies, and the company uses money from new investors to pay off old debts.

Ezubao is a subsidiary of Yucheng Group. Zhang Min, the CEO of Yucheng Group and one of those arrested, admitted that Ezubao was "just a pyramid scheme."

Yucheng Group spent approximately 800 million RMB, equivalent to 121 million USD, to purchase financial information from companies in order to create fictitious projects.

According to Tuoi Tre newspaper