[File photo]

A number of nude photographs have been leaked online after several female students offered the photos in exchange for high-interest loans via an online lending platform.

Around 10 gigabytes of photos have allegedly been released. Jiedaibao, a popular online peer-to-peer lending platform, is involved in the incident, the Beijing Times reported on Dec. 1.

According to the report, some lenders have been using the platform to offer female college students high-interest loans on the condition that the borrowers hand over nude photos of themselves holding their ID cards as collateral. Most female participants were between 19 and 23.

The lending conditions were not limited to nude pictures. Also leaked were a number of screenshots of supposed dialogues between the borrowers and lenders, with one lender demanding that the female students deliver a video of herself masturbating. Some of the leaked photos and videos can still be found on Chinese social media as of press time.

In response to the incident, Jiedaibao made an announcement on its Sina Weibo on Dec. 1, stressing that the use of nude pictures as collateral for loans constitutes a private deal between users, which the company cannot regulate.

“We have called the police and collected evidence to protect the company’s reputation. Those who leaked the nude pictures will be punished according to law,” the announcement read.

Online peer-to-peer lending platforms have expanded rapidly in China, along with fraud cases. Online peer-to-peer broker Ezubao previously cheated about 900,000 investors out of more than 50 billion RMB through a giant Ponzi scheme, the Xinhua News Agency reported in February.