In China’s Henan province, the provincial government has clarified that investors’ money will be returned in the wake of a massive mass protest against the multi-crore fraud that took place at various bank branches. Officials said a similar scam had taken place in Anhui province and the money would be refunded here as well. It has been informed that payment will be made in installments from July 15.
On Sunday, around 1,000 people protested in front of the provincial branch of the People’s Bank of China in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan. Four banks in the financial crisis in Henan province had frozen withdrawals since mid-April. Chinese media reports that the money frozen in this way is about 1.5 billion US dollars.
A video has surfaced of peaceful protesters being beaten and dragged away by security personnel. Many people have invested their entire life savings in these banks. Many companies with accounts in these banks have not even been able to pay their employees. Investors here have not been able to withdraw small amounts or even make cash transactions.
This is how the scam started
Four banks in Henan province ran out of cash for transactions in the first weeks of April. These banks then banned withdrawals. Bank accounts were frozen. People have no way to withdraw their savings from the bank. The disturbed people filed a complaint with the authorities. But no action was taken.
Henan Shinkaifu Group, a private investment company, is said to be behind these scams. The company has stake in these four banks. The Shinkaifu Group organized investors online by offering high interest rates in conjunction with bank employees. Banks used the money received from investors to make loans. But some people say that the repayment of these loans has stopped and that is the reason for the crisis.
But investors are not ready to accept that argument. Those who are stuck with the money say there are dirty tricks behind the scam. Investors are pointing fingers at the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, who allege that Chinese government representatives are also involved in the incident. They also say that the local government in Henan is mired in corruption. Protesters say that Chinese officials are working with this mafia to suppress the protests. Along with the local police, they also came to beat the protestors in plain clothes.
This is the second time the protest has been suppressed
This is the second time that the police have taken action against the protestors on the same issue. Many of the protesters were seriously injured. Many were taken to detention centers. The police action was a warning not to come forward with such protests again. But there is no definitive answer to the money lost by investors. Although it has now said that the money will be refunded, it is unclear when and how it will be.
Covid protocol raised and control
For citizens to travel in China, the Covid color code must be green. If the health code is green in the mobile application on the phone, it means that the owner of the phone has not gone to the Covid region, the risk is low and there is no problem to travel. If the health code is red, you cannot travel. The red color means that you have gone through a covid-affected area or come in contact with covid. Such persons cannot alight in public places or use public means of transport. There is a high possibility that they will be transferred to the government quarantine center. This application is launched as part of the government’s plan to control the spread of the virus. In the meantime, there were serious allegations that they tried to stop the assembly of the protesters by showing manipulation in this color code.
After Sunday’s protest, the crowd came to protest on Monday. But the health code, which was green till then, has now turned red. The administration crushed this protest by sending them to hotels and other centers under police security for quarantine. It is alleged that the government is trying to suppress the protest by imposing travel restrictions on the people.
Meanwhile, international media reports that the health code is red only for investors. Those arriving at Zhengzhou need to scan the QR code to exit the public transport system. Protesters exchanged photos of this QR code. According to reports, when one of the investors scanned it, the health code was red and when his wife scanned it, it was green. When complaints were raised about this, the reply was received that the problem was in the database and was being resolved.
The members of the ‘criminal gang’ were arrested
After the protest got stronger, it was reported that the people of the ‘criminal gang’ behind the bank fraud have been arrested. Although the local administration has not released any information about this, the police in Suchang city have confirmed this. Suchang police informed that some people who planned to take control of the banks were arrested. According to the police, they have been working since 2011 by artificially giving loans using their shares and influencing the employees illegally.
English Summary: China Henan bank scam and COVID red code