Beijing, Feb 14 (IANS): China's public security ministry has launched an online platform to register the victims of investment frauds and pyramid scams, the media reported on Sunday.

The initiative comes after a crackdown on online lending platform, Ezubao, EFE news reported.

Ezubao had collected $7 billion from more than 900,000 investors. Disguised as an investment company, which collected money over the internet through the bait of promising returns, Ezubao diverted funds it collected from investors to finance the personal expenses of its directors and managed to return the initial investments with the money it collected from new clients.

The operation, revealed on February 1, led to the arrest of 21 people and caused a huge stir in the country due to the popularity of Ezubao, which was founded in July 2014 and gained ground in the country through an aggressive ad campaign, including spots, on the state broadcaster CCTV.

The ministry said that the online platform will allow victims of the Ezubao scam to register themselves on the website until May 13, to facilitate the investigation.

The information given by the victims will be verified and serve as the basis for a possible refund of the defrauded amount.

The website will also be used for victims of possible new cases of fraud that could occur in the future.