What’s new: Another senior official who once oversaw the rural credit system in central China’s Henan province turned himself in to authorities investigating a multibillion-dollar banking scam, the province’s anti-graft watchdog said.
Wu Jinpeng, 49, former deputy head of the Henan Rural Credit Union, is under investigation on suspicion of serious violation of law and discipline, the Henan office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said.
Wu is the sixth senior official from the Henan Rural Credit Union to come under investigation since the scam swindled thousands of depositors across the country a year ago. He was the second to turn himself in.
The background: In August 2022, Wu’s supervisor Wang Yong, former chief of the Henan Rural Credit Union, was taken away by authorities on suspicion of serious violation of law and discipline, the province’s anti-graft watchdog said.
Wang and Wu are being probed for their links to Henan Xincaifu Group Investment Holding Co. Ltd., the company behind the rural banking scam, in which several village banks in the province suspended online banking services and effectively locked customers across China out of their accounts.
Henan Xincaifu is controlled by a shady operator named Lü Yi, who authorities allege led a “criminal gang.” Lü, 48, had deep connections and business ties with many financial institutions across China, sources told Caixin.
A person with knowledge of the matter told Caixin that investigators targeted Wang for assistance he offered to Lü to obtain a loan.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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