China's financial regulator has threatened trust companies who release false information to the public with hefty punishments.

Directors, senior managers and other responsible staff could face fines ranging anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 yuan (about 6,240 to 62,400 U.S dollars), and even prohibited from working in the financial sector in the years ahead if found cheating the public, Lai Xiaomin, a spokesman for the China Banking Regulatory Commission said on Monday. Their firms could be shut down or have their licenses revoked, he added.

His warning comes after the trust companies in China, though generally in the black, were alleged to have mishandled their clients' money and cheated investors with false or incomplete figures.

Directors, senior managers and other accountable staffers could face fines within a range of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan (some 6,240 to 62,400 U.S dollars), and even banned from working in the financial sector for a lifelong time, if found cheating the public, Lai said.

Source: Xinhua