Caixin News, December 1st (Reporter Peng Kefeng) Whenever a banking practitioner is permanently banned by regulators, their actions are always suspicious.

On November 29, the Shanxi Banking Regulatory Bureau revealed that Tao Jun, a retail customer manager of the Small Business Financial Department of China Citic Bank Corporation Taiyuan Branch at the time, was held responsible for handling the bank's acceptance bill business with false mortgage registration and no genuine trade background, and was given an administrative penalty of a lifetime ban on engaging in banking business.

Caixin reporters noted that Tao Jun's involvement in related illegal activities led to penalties for both the China Citic Bank Taiyuan Branch and multiple individuals, but only he was permanently banned in this batch of penalties. Information from the judicial document website shows that Tao Jun claimed to be able to help people apply for substantial loans and deceive for considerable "benefits". Due to involvement in fraud cases, he has already been sentenced to 12 years in the first instance.

A fraud case behind a ban order: Bank staff claims they can handle a 60 million loan and demand benefits

According to related documents, Tao Jun, male, born in 1977, has an undergraduate education. Due to suspicion of committing fraud, he was criminally detained on November 28, 2018, and arrested on December 13 of the same year.

According to the victim Lin, in early June 2018, he told Tao Jun about planning to invest in a project and urgently needed money, asking him to repay the previous loan. However, Tao Jun claimed to help Lin raise funds and communicate with their superiors.

"I said the mine invested in Yangquan District Yuxian needs a working capital of 60 million. After Tao Jun visited the site and confirmed the project was reliable, he reported back to the bank's president." Lin explained that two days later, Tao Jun called and said the bank president (Guo, the head of China Citic Bank Taiyuan Branch) agreed to a 60 million loan and asked him to prepare 2 million yuan for the president. On July 3, 2018, Lin had his driver send 2 million yuan in cash to Tao Jun. "That evening, Tao Jun called me and said he had delivered the money to the president's home, ensuring the matter would be taken care of." However, Lin later realized he had been deceived as there was no sign of the related loan.

It is worth noting that during the court trial, Tao Jun confessed that after taking 2 million yuan from Lin, he repaid the loan from a small loan company and credit card debt. However, he did arrange for relevant personnel to inspect Lin's project site, but because the bank president was dismissed at the end of August and beginning of September 2018, 'this matter could not proceed.'

The court found Tao Jun guilty of fraud and was sentenced to twelve years in the first instance.

After the incident, on November 27, 2018, local police in Taiyuan arrested Tao Jun at the China Citic Bank branch in Fuxi Street, Xinghualing District, Taiyuan. Local procuratorate subsequently intervened in the investigation.

The Xinghualing District People's Procuratorate of Taiyuan City accused Tao Jun of claiming to help the victim Lin handle a 60 million yuan loan from China Citic Bank in June 2018, and falsely claiming the matter of China Citic Bank inspecting investment projects to deceive the victim Lin's trust. Later, pretending that sending 2 million yuan as event funds to the head of Taiyuan branch of China Citic Bank was necessary to process the loan, he deceived the victim into giving him 2 million yuan in cash. However, Tao Jun did not give the money to the bank manager, nor did he process the loan for him. Tao Jun has not processed any loans for the victim to this day, nor has he refunded any amounts. The proceeds have been used to repay personal debts and expenses. The prosecution believes that Tao Jun's actions constitute fraud.

Tao Jun's defense lawyer argued that objectively, Tao Jun did not use fraudulent methods to deceive the victim's property, and the victim did not have any misconceptions. Tao Jun has always actively helped the victim raise project financing through various channels. Additionally, Tao Jun actively negotiated with the victim for refunds and returned some of the funds involved.

In April 2020, the Taiyuan Xinghualing District People's Court of Shanxi Province announced the first-instance results. The court determined that Tao Jun, with the aim of illegal possession, fabricated facts, concealed the truth, and deceived others of 1.6 million yuan, which was an especially large amount, constituting the crime of fraud. The prosecution's accusation was upheld. In the final judgment, Tao Jun was convicted of fraud, sentenced to twelve years in prison, fined ten thousand yuan, and ordered to repay the victim Lin one million six hundred thousand yuan.