In a move apparently intended to placate protesting bank customers, authorities in China’s Henan Province announced an updated repayment plan that will make customers with deposits ranging from $14,827 to $22,240 eligible for refunds. Authorities also announced that two unnamed employees of the ministry are being investigated for alleged violations of the law.
Repayments are expected to begin in August
Authorities in China’s Henan Province have reportedly announced plans to re-pay rural bank customers whose bank accounts have been frozen since April. The repayment program is scheduled to begin on August 1, and only customers with deposits between 100,000 yuan ($14,827) and 150,000 yuan ($22,240) will be eligible for repayment, according to the arrangement presented by the authorities.
according to a Reuters report. The province’s authorities are now working to appease restless bank customers who are protesting the decision by three rural banks to freeze their funds. Prior to this announcement, some officials in the province reportedly used the country’s Covid 19 regulations to block a planned protest.
However, as Bitcoin.com News reported, angry bank customers were then able to picket outside the central bank’s offices in Henan province. Following reports of the unusual protest, some social media users began circulating videos of military tanks seemingly moving to defend the central bank’s offices from protesters. Other users, however, claimed that the tanks were actually on parade more than 440 kilometers away in Shandong province.
Three officials under investigation
Chinese authorities have not commented directly on the protest, but a statement purportedly released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) It is suggested that they are under investigation.
In addition, the Central Discipline Inspection Committee of Henan Province also announced that it is investigating an official whose role is to oversee financial stability at the central bank office in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou. The unnamed official is said to be facing charges of serious disciplinary violations.
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