Chinese police arrest suspects, freeze funds linked to Henan bank deposits

China's police say they have arrested some suspects and frozen funds in connection with the disappearance of deposits from a number of banks in the country's central Henan province, according to an official notice posted late on Sunday.

China's police say they have arrested some suspects and frozen funds in connection with the disappearance of deposits from a number of banks in the country's central Henan province, according to an official notice posted late on Sunday. A number of banks in Henan froze millions of deposits in April leaving firms unable to pay workers and individuals locked out of savings, prompting protests in the province over the weekend.

Henan police said the suspects were able to effectively control a number of the province's banks via a group company, according to the notice posted on an official WeChat account. The criminal cohort used third party financial product platforms and a firm they set up themselves to gather deposits and sell other financial products. They then made fictitious loans as a way to illegally transfer the funds, the notice said.