PANews reported on March 25th that, according to the Economic Observer, Ba Shusong, chief economist of the China Banking Association and senior advisor at the HSBC Financial Research Institute of Peking University, is suspected of being involved in an illegal fundraising case. He was taken away by law enforcement authorities around March 12, 2026, and has been out of contact since. Sources familiar with the matter say the case may be related to an illegal fundraising project led by his students, and that Ba Shusong has been restricted from leaving the country for at least six months. Neither his employer nor he himself has yet made a public response to the situation.