Police at the scene confirmed that Mr Guo Yuanfeng, founder of China Commodity Spot Exchange, was missing, and said they were investigating the case.

The Beijing News reported that Mr Guo had absconded to the United States with the funds.

Dozens of people gathered on the street under the company's 19th-floor office yesterday afternoon to wait for news. Many hoped for bailouts from the government.

'I will stay here. I want to hear from the government,' said Ms Ye Xinying, a middle-aged woman from the central province of Hubei, her face streaked with tears.

She said she was a local agent for the exchange, which traded in agricultural and metal commodities. She managed 1 million yuan for nearly 70 clients.

'I cannot go back home empty-handed. My clients would kill me,' Ms Ye said. 'They already smashed into my office and took away my computers, fax machine and printers when they could not withdraw money from their accounts.'

China's financial sector is no stranger to scandals, with insider trading rife in the country's main markets and stories of ordinary investors duped by elaborate schemes.

The office of the besieged online commodity exchange was closed yesterday, and police sat in the building's lobby, taking down information from those who said they had lost money.

REUTERS