BEIJING, July 11 -- Beijing's Fengtai district police arrested a group of 22 con artists on Tuesday that had duped more than 500 enterprises into buying false quality certificates. The scam earned them 2 million yuan ($292,000).

    The criminal gang, claiming to be officials at the Great Hall of the People, or members of the "China Product Quality Supervision Committee", told victim companies that 4,800 yuan would entitle them to label their goods "Designated Product of the Great Hall of the People", or "Top Chinese Enterprises".

    The police, informed by the criminal investigation group of Beijing public security bureau at the end of last year, assigned a special investigative group to the case.

    An advertising company acted as the agent for the so-called Designated Products of the Great Hall of the People, and no such organization as the "China Product Quality Supervision Committee" exists. The criminal gang's three companies were registered, other than their names and tax accounts, with false information. Companies were deceived by the website, the server of which is outside China, because it looks convincingly similar to those of official quality and technical supervision organizations.

    Police went to the Daxing district of Beijing, where the false certifications sent to victims originated, and arrested seven suspects. They then tracked down the gang headquarters in Jinhu county, Jiangsu province.

    All 500 or so companies ensnared in the scam have now been asked by local police and the administrative bureau of industry and commerce to cease using this false certification.

    (Source: China Daily)