Enraged investors staged a protest on Monday in front of the government regulatory body tasked with safeguarding their interest. The protesters claim the authorities ignored their complaints against a local metal exchange company, which reportedly cheated them of several billion yuan.

The protesters were able to stage their protest in front of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) building for about two hours before the police removed them from the site.

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Such large protests are rare in China, according to the BBC. Foreign observers believe that the recent economic downturn is causing frustration among Chinese citizen, especially those who lost much of their savings in the stock market.

One of the protesters identified only by his surname Fang, said they had no other choice but to vent their feelings in public since their grievances have been ignored by the CSRC.

The protesters reportedly invested a large amount of their savings in the Fanya Metal Exchange based in Kunming City, Yunnan province. The company trades in various metal deposits such as antimony or cobalt. It stores them in its warehouse on the strength of a license issued by the local government unit.

The metal exchange company was able to convince the general public to invest several billion yuan. Many were convinced to put in money after observing the rice in metal prices. The Chinese economic slowdown, however, has caused the price of metals to fall. Some of the more savvy investors were able to unload their stocks before the stock market crash.

However, more than 200,000 investors are now holding stocks at a fraction of their former prices. Fang was bitter that neither the metal exchange nor the government advised them about the risks in the metal trade. She claims that almost 50 billion yuan (about $7 billion has) was invested in Fanya and investors have no recovering given the current low prices of metals.

The metal exchange company announced two months ago that it was experiencing a shortage in cash due to the many investors, who wished to cash in their investment.

In August, frustrated investors collared the chairman of Fanya's board of directors Shan Jiuliang in a Shanghai hotel. He was turned over to the local police, but was later released.

Tagsfanya metal exchange, chinese investors protest, chinese economic slowdown, chinese stock market crash, chinese metal trading, low metal prices, ignored Fanya fraud, Fanya fraud, defrauded chinese investors, Fanya chairman