Weizhen Tang has admitted he lost all the money his clients had invested in his company. (Toronto Police Service)

A financial adviser accused of defrauding more than 100 investors of about $30 million is broke and will have to apply for legal aid, his lawyer said.

Weizhen Tang, who described himself on his website as the "Chinese Warren Buffett," is accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme between January 2006 and March 2009.

Two Toronto police officers took Tang into custody shortly after his Air Canada flight from Shanghai arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Wednesday evening.

Tang, 51, made a brief appearance in court in Toronto on Thursday, and will face a bail hearing on Friday. He appeared haggard in court but smiled a number of times.

"He doesn't have any money so he's applying for legal aid," said Tang's lawyer, Loftus Cuddy, outside the courtroom.

Tang will likely have to come up with a six-figure sum in order to make bail — money his family doesn't have, Cuddy said.

Nevertheless, the lawyer said Tang is happy to be back in Canada and knows he has a long fight ahead.

"He expresses thanks for all of his well-wishers and he looks forward to earning the approval of the public as his case goes forward, but he does have some evidentiary challenges to overcome," Cuddy told reporters.

Tang acknowledged he failed to disclose losses, fabricated investor account statements and lost all investor money, according to the Ontario Securities Commission. But he maintains he has committed no crime, attributing the lost funds to poor financial decisions.

Toronto investor allegedly lost $2.4M

Tang was originally to meet with Toronto police on Dec. 29 to face charges. But he was in China at the time and did not keep that appointment, prompting police to issue a warrant for his arrest.

His online trading firm in Canada, Oversea Chinese Fund Limited Partnership, required investors to contribute at least $150,000 each.

The investors live across Canada, the United States and in China, police said. They have complained they have not been able to access the money they invested in Tang's company. One Toronto-area client has allegedly lost $2.4 million, according to police.

Tang has been charged with fraud over $5,000.

The Ontario Securities Commission has also forbidden Tang to trade and charged him in June with 12 fraud-related counts. A provincial court trial on those charges is set to begin April 19.

Tang is also wanted in the United States on a number of fraud-related charges.