When people leave and the store becomes empty, who will repay the lost gold?

【People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau】

Editor's note:

　　　　This is the People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau, investigating changes in people's livelihood where no one has seen it before. Pay attention to what you want to pay attention to and what you haven’t paid attention to, and investigate what you want to see and what you haven’t seen.

　　China News Service, March 29 (China News Zuo Yuqing) As the price of gold continues to rise, purchasing gold at a brand gold store and hosting it directly in the store can not only save handling fees, reduce personal storage risks, and even bring additional income. , it sounds like a sure-fire way to manage your finances without losing money. However, this custody method may be a "trap" set by the gold franchise store in violation of regulations.

　　Recently, the media revealed that China Gold’s two franchise stores in Beijing and Jiaozuo, Henan were found to be empty, and dozens of kilograms of gold stored by consumers in the stores were also “missing.” The amount involved may be as high as tens of millions. Yuan. China News Finance’s investigation found that the number of victims in the incident may still be increasing, and the current rights protection is still difficult.

The number of victims is still increasing, involving more than 60 kilograms of gold.

　　"The police have opened a case, but there is no progress." Consumer Ms. Xiao (pseudonym) told China News Finance that she started buying and hosting gold at China Gold Beijing Shuangjing R&F Plaza store 12 years ago.

　　"Every year in March, the store will call me to renew my deposit, but I haven't received a call recently. I checked online and found out that this store no longer exists. I only found out after reading the news that it ran away."

　　She said she had gone to Shuangjing Police Station to call the police. "When I went to the bookstore opposite the police station to copy materials, the store owner said that many people came to call the police a year ago. People have been coming in the past two months, and there were several people yesterday."

　　Ms. Xiao's rights protection group has a total of 78 people. Previous statistics involved 60 kilograms of gold and tens of millions of yuan in losses. Now this number is still increasing. According to statistics in the group, many people trust gold weighing more than 1 kilogram.

　　For the victims, the purpose of hosting gold is not to seek "huge profits", but more as a "safe deposit box".

　　"100g of gold is only given 2.5g after being stored for one year. It is not easy to cash out a thin piece of ornament. Even if you calculate the amount, the interest rate for one year is no different from that of depositing it in a bank. It is purely because of trust in the brand of China Gold. Don’t worry if you keep your gold in the brand store. Over the years, consumers have never found that the store is a franchise store anywhere in the store, nor on various invoices.”

  Warranty form issued by China Gold Beijing Shuangjing R&F Plaza Beijing Concept Store. Photo provided by interviewee.

　　The contract posted in the rights protection group shows that the contract and signature all read "China Gold Beijing Concept Store".

　　Sino-News Finance has noticed that the runaway of China Gold franchise stores is not an isolated case. In addition to the two franchise stores reported by the media this time, the China Gold Hangzhou flagship store also has the same situation.

　　Huo Lin (pseudonym) told China News Finance that she bought 500g of gold at the China Gold Hangzhou flagship store in 2013 and has always kept it in the store. Now that the store is closed, the person in charge cannot be found either.

　　“I didn’t expect to spend money to buy a piece of paper,” she said.

　　According to media reports, on March 25, an unnamed executive of China Gold Co., Ltd. responded that the China Gold Beijing concept store in Beijing R&F Plaza was operating illegally, and the person in charge is currently in custody. He also revealed that consumers come to China Gold for consultation every week, and the company has established a docking mechanism for this. According to reports, the case has entered judicial proceedings, and China Gold said, "We are actively cooperating, and there has been no progress yet."

Is China Gold responsible for the franchisee's "golden cicada's escape"?

　　For the victims, defending their rights is still difficult.

　　Tianyancha showed that the main body of the franchise store involved, "Beijing Sandingyuan Gold Jewelry Co., Ltd.", had undergone a series of changes as early as December 2023, and shareholder Zou Zhiqun withdrew from the company.

　　It is difficult to hold franchisees accountable, and defending rights from brands is not smooth either. Many consumers reported that after they complained to China Gold, China Gold refused to take responsibility on the grounds that the store involved was a franchise store.

　　"Since the store opened in 2009, it has continued to handle this custody business for 14 years. As an agent and as the headquarters, China Gold cannot be completely unaware of this." In this regard, some consumers questioned: "The lack of supervision responsibility has led to In this crisis, consumers should not be left to foot the bill."

  The "China Gold Investment Gold Bar Worry-Free Reservation Certificate" issued by China Gold Beijing Shuangjing R&F Plaza Beijing Concept Store. Photo provided by interviewee.

　　So, is “franchise store” an excuse to evade responsibility?

　　An Xiang, director of Beijing Dexiang Law Firm, told Sino-Singapore Finance that when consumers purchase products and services from China Gold, no matter what kind of cooperation model China Gold has with its stores, it must first take responsibility for consumers and then rely on internal cooperation. The agreement stipulates to deal with internal disputes.

　　"Gold, as a precious metal investment project, involves the people's major property security. China Gold should take responsibility and take the initiative to take responsibility in accordance with the law." He said.

　　China Gold's 2022 annual report shows that it has a total of 3,642 stores, of which 105 are directly operated stores and the remaining 3,537 are franchised stores, accounting for approximately 97.12%. This means that franchising is the main sales model for China Gold.

　　In the prospectus, China Gold also stated that it has established a relatively complete management system and internal control system for the franchise business, carried out standardized management of the qualification evaluation, operating standards, management, sales and other aspects of franchise stores, and established Specialized departments supervise the daily operations of franchise stores.

　　After the incident continued to ferment, China Gold said in response to inquiries on the investor platform: "The company attaches great importance to the recent problems arising from the company's franchise channel business and has set up a special team to actively promote the proper handling of the incident. Currently, it has contacted relevant parties Communicate and negotiate solutions to reduce the impact on company operations."

What is the origin of gold custody with constant tricks?

　　During the run away from the franchise store, the deceived consumers suffered heavy losses due to the "gold custody".

　　So, is it illegal for a gold store to engage in gold custody business?

　　The so-called gold custody means that individuals or institutions hand over the gold they hold to financial institutions for safekeeping, and the financial institutions carry out gold acquisition, custody, sales and other businesses. The custodian can purchase gold through a securities account or transfer the gold in his or her hands to a financial institution for safekeeping. Physical gold is handed over to financial institutions for safekeeping.

　　Sino-Singapore Finance reviewed public information and found that the concept of "gold bank" became popular more than ten years ago. Many gold stores opened a "gold value-added custody" business, promising different proportions of annual interest or gold weight gain to custodians. Consumers only need to provide valid identification and can apply for gold savings without any fees.

  China Gold Shanghai flagship store. Image source: China Gold WeChat public account.

　　However, some people in the industry soon pointed out that those who opened the "gold bank" business were basically jewelers, not banks or professional financial institutions. Therefore, there was a lack of transparency and effective supervision, and there was a greater risk in terms of credibility.

　　Well-known economist Pan Helin told Zhongxin Finance that according to the "Interim Measures for the Management of Gold Accumulation Business" issued by the central bank in 2018, gold accumulation business can only be carried out by qualified financial institutions, and other commercial entities cannot carry out it.

　　"Of course, the gold accumulation business in the document is not gold custody, but a gold account, which itself is an attribute of a financial investment product. In fact, there is no specific document about the gold custody business, but refer to the gold accumulation method If so, the gold store’s move is indeed suspected of illegally raising funds and illegally conducting restricted financial businesses.”

　　Sino-Singapore Finance noticed that as early as 2009, the China Gold Shanghai flagship store, as a directly operated store, had launched a "worry-free custody" service. In response, staff at the China Gold Shanghai flagship store told Sino-Singapore Finance that there is currently no similar business.

　　"We were only doing a temporary event at the time, and we never did it again after the event. Moreover, this event was approved by the head office, and the model is different from the franchisees."

　　Sino-Singapore Finance asked many Chinese gold franchise stores, and their clerks all said that they do not have gold custody business. (over)