Yueting’s name was recently added to a nationwide list of debt defaulters after he failed to pay back US$71 million to Ping An Securities Group

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has ordered Jia Yueting, Founder of the debt-laden tech conglomerate LeEco (a subsidiary of by Beijing-based Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp.), to return to the country by the end of this month and sort out debt issues.

In a summons issued on December 25, the CSRC warned that “(in order) to protect the legitimate rights and interests of listed companies and investors, we hereby order you to return before December 31, 2017 to effectively fulfil the obligations of the actual controller of the company, co-operate to solve the problems, properly handle the risks of the company and earnestly protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors.”

Also Read: A real disruptor or a big talker? The myth of LeEco

The new summons was served after Yueting failed to respond to a similar order issued on September 13.

Earlier this month, Yueting’s name was added to a nationwide list of debt defaulters after he failed to pay back US$71 million to Ping An Securities Group.

LeEco-Founder_Jia_Yueting

LeEco Founder Jia Yueting

Leshi was started in 2004 by Yueting as a video streaming company. In 2016, it made a thundering entry into smartphones, smart bikes and other consumer electronics under the LeEco brand, with an offer to acquire American TV maker Vizio for US$2 billion (the agreement was later called off). To finance its various ambitious projects, LeEco borrowed billions of dollars in investments, including a US$2.2 billion in January this year from property developer Sunac China Holdings. LeEco was planning to invest the money to invest in its film production company Leshi Pictures and to further grow its smart internet TV unit Leshi Zhixin.

However, LeEco’s expansions plans did not go well as planned. As the pressure from lenders mounted, in July he resigned from Leshi Internet as well as other roles within LeEco’s various ventures. A week earlier, a Shanghai court had frozen US$182 million worth of assets tied to Jia, which amounted to 40 per cent of the company’s stock.

A few weeks before its massive funding round, LeEco reportedly fired over 85 per cent employees in India.

In November last year, LeEco secured US$600 million of funding from a dozen of local investors.

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