Chinese police announced the arrest of more than 200 suspects in one of the biggest banking scandals in the country’s history, sparking public demonstrations on a scale rarely seen in China, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Four rural banks in the central Chinese province of Henan blocked all withdrawals in April without giving any explanation to the thousands of affected depositors. Publicly protested several times; The largest demonstration took place in July in Zhengzhou, about 600 km south of Beijing, according to Agerpres.

Immediately afterward, authorities arrested several alleged members of the criminal organization, accused of controlling the respective banks since 2011 and making illegal payments through fictitious loans.

On Monday, local police in Sichuan announced that 234 suspects had been arrested in connection with the scam and that “significant progress” had been made in recovering the stolen funds.

Bank customers began gradually getting their savings back from last month, and the authorities promised that payments would be made in stages, starting with those with the smallest bank deposits.

According to AFP, China’s rural banks have been hit hard by the government’s policies to curb the property bubble and the degree of indebtedness. Financial institutions in Henan are only part of a broader category facing liquidity and governance challenges.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters demanding their money back and accusing the state of passivity or even complicity with the banks were dispersed by plainclothes men in an unusual July rally for China.

In June, the Henani authorities were suspected of abusing medical permits to prevent those who intended to protest under the pretext of being infected with the coronavirus. In China, appropriate permits are required to access the vast majority of buildings, shopping malls, public places and vehicles. A “red” permit is de facto equivalent to a travel ban and quarantine.