BEIJING - A former financial regulation official in central China's Henan province is under investigation following a local rural banking scandal, the local anti-graft watchdog said on Friday .
Mr Chen Yimin, former deputy head of the now-defunct China Banking Regulatory Commission's Henan Office, is being investigated for suspected"severe violation of discipline and law", the watchdog said in a statement on its website. Mr Chen, who worked at the Henan Rural Credit Union from 2012 to 2018, is the latest of a string of Henan financial officials to be placed under investigation.
Since April, deposits worth at least US$1.5 billion at a handful of small lenders in Henan have been frozen in what authorities have said was a complex scam that has sparked protests and threatened public confidence in the country's financial system.Last month, local police said they have arrested 234 suspects in connection with the scandal.