A woman in East China's Jiangsu province who fled in early March to escape debts totaling at least 500 million yuan ($79 million) has been found hiding in Shanghai, local authorities confirmed on Thursday.

"The police found Gu Chunfang in the neighboring municipality," Xi Jian, director of the publicity department of the Party committee of Changshu city, Jiangxu province, told China Daily.

More details will be revealed at a news conference on Thursday afternoon, according to the city's economic crime investigation team.

The 40-year-old fugitive represented a trading company in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. Victims said she had borrowed millions of yuan from them, as well as from the heads of other large businesses and local commercial banks, promising to pay interest at rates of 20 to 40 percent per year.