Four banks in central China's Henan province suspended cash withdrawals in April as regulators cracked down on mismanagement, freezing the funds of hundreds of thousands of customers and sparking protests that at times ended in violence
Beijing, China: Chinese police have arrested more than 200 suspects linked to one of the country's biggest-ever banking scandals, which triggered rare mass protests.
Four banks in central China's Henan province suspended cash withdrawals in April as regulators cracked down on mismanagement, freezing the funds of hundreds of thousands of customers and sparking protests that at times ended in violence.
Police said Monday they had now arrested 234 people in connection with the scandal and that "significant progress" was being made in recovering stolen funds.
"A criminal gang... illegally controlled four village and town banks... and was suspected of committing a series of serious crimes," police in the city of Xuchang said in a statement on Monday.
China's rural banking sector has been hit hard by Beijing's efforts to rein in a property bubble and spiralling debt in a financial crackdown that has had ripple effects across the world's second-largest economy.