A blogger who sold stock picks to thousands of subscribers has been detained in northern China, as regulators try to reign in freelance operators amid a booming stock market, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report said Wang Xiujie, known to his readers as 'Big Brother Leader 777' could face charges of running an unlicensed business and illegally raising funds, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Starting in February, Wang sold subscriptions for tips sent by instant message, boasting his predictions had a 90% accuracy rate, Xinhua said.
It said Wang had been placed 'under control' by the police's Internet investigations squad in the northeastern province of Jilin and officers were applying to formally arrest him. Police confirmed the detention, though it wasn't immediately clear when or where he had been taken, the Associated Press report said.
Officers at the Jilin provincial police headquarters said no spokesmen were available to comment.
Wang's blog was last updated on July 1st. Its home page displayed a message from Wang thanking supporters and lashing out at 'garbage' whom he accused of attacking him.
He described himself as a professional investor in stocks, bonds, postage stamps and antiques.