In a move seen as an attempt to pacify protesting bank
clients, Chinese authorities in Henan province announced their latest
repayment plan which sees customers with deposits ranging between
$14,827 and $22,240 qualify for reimbursement. In addition, authorities
said two unnamed officials from the province are being investigated for
allegedly violating the law.
Reimbursements Set to Commence in August
Authorities in China’s Henan province have reportedly announced plans
for another round of repayments to clients of rural banks whose bank
accounts have been frozen since April. The repayments program is set to
start on August 1 and according to an arrangement put forward by
authorities, only clients with deposits that range between 100,000 yuan
($14,827) and 150,000 yuan ($22,240) qualify to receive a reimbursement.
According to a Reuters report,
authorities in the province are now moving to pacify the restive bank
clients who have been protesting against the three rural banks’ decision
to freeze their funds. Before the latest announcement, some officials
in the province had reportedly used the country’s Covid-19 regulations
to block planned protests.
However, as reported
by Bitcoin.com News, angry bank clients were later able to picket
outside the central bank’s offices in Henan. Following reports of the
rare protests, some social media users began circulating videos
of military tanks seemingly moving to protect the central bank’s
offices from protestors. However, other users insisted the tanks were in
fact on a parade in Shandong province, more than 440 kilometers away.
Three Officials Under Investigation
While Chinese authorities have not directly commented on the
protests, a statement reportedly issued by the China Banking and
Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) suggested that two officials,
one from its Henan province office and another from a sub-office, were
under investigation for violating the law.
In addition, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in
Henan also announced that it is now investigating an official charged
with overseeing financial stability at the central bank’s office in the
provincial capital, Zhengzhou. The unnamed official faced charges of
serious disciplinary violation, the report said.
