Police in China arrest over 200 suspects after protests erupted over bank frauds

Authorities in China's Henan province cracked down on at least four banks over alleged mismanagement of funds. The regulators froze the funds of customers which led to protests. Police claimed they had arrested 234 people describing them as belonging to "criminal gangs" even as regulators said they had begun repaying depositors.

Regulators last week offered repayments to more customers of rural banks who were hit by the latest scam. Authorities had also named a bank in Anhui province allegedly involved in a scheme to defraud investors.

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Hundreds of protesters had earlier gathered outside the branch of the People's Bank of China in Henan's Zhengzhou to demand their money as they accused local officials and police of corruption. Authorities assured people they would accelerate plans to tackle the local financial crisis, reports said.

The demonstration began trending on China's social media site Weibo as netizens expressed their sympathy for those who suffered due to the bank frauds.

The banking scamcomes amid the property crisis as the Chinese property giant Evergrande cancelled a contract to build a football stadium. Evergrande has already failed to publish a preliminary restructuring proposal after going bankrupt.

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Reports claimed the troubled property giant had found a potential buyer for its Hong Kong headquarters even as it reels under a massive $300 billion in liabilities. The company had fired its CEO and CFO as the company's expanding crisis severely hit the property sector.

Reports claim homebuyers in some cities have also stopped making mortgage payments on unfinished projects however reports claim the Communist Party may support developers with state funding.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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