Signs of Decline in the Red Regime: The Person Is Alive, the Bank Card Still Exists — But the Savings Are Gone

In July 2022, Henan depositors defended their rights. Authorities used gang-like thugs to punch and kick the protesters, then forcibly dragged them away and put them onto buses. (Video screenshot)

[People News]“The person is alive, the bank card still exists, yet the money in the bank has mysteriously vanished!” Over the past decade or more, this phenomenon has occurred frequently across many provinces in China and has become disturbingly common. The amounts involved range from tens of thousands of yuan to hundreds of millions. Cases have implicated banks such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Hangzhou United Bank, among others. Even more infuriating, after such incidents occur, banks often refuse to compensate depositors, claiming the losses were due to “individual employee crimes,” leaving victims in despair.

Recently, a notary office in Beijing had 180 million yuan deposited in a bank gradually siphoned off over several years by bank employees. The account balance was ultimately reduced to just over 448,000 yuan. During litigation, the bank claimed that the responsible employees had either left their jobs or were “mentally ill,” arguing that their actions were personal crimes and that the bank should not be held liable.

Such cases have become commonplace in China.

In Inner Mongolia, 11 depositors recently had 2.2 million yuan they deposited at a bank counter lured away by employees offering “internal high interest rates.” The bank refused compensation on the grounds of “individual employee crime.” In October 2025, a depositor surnamed Zhu sued the bank for principal and interest but lost in the first trial, sparking public concern over financial security. The second trial opened on January 5, 2026, and as of January 31 no verdict had been announced.

Public outrage over the Inner Mongolia case centers on two issues: not only did the bank shift the cost of internal management failures onto depositors, but the court actually ruled against the depositor. The court’s decision was seen as a direct challenge to society: under CCP rule, banks can behave like thugs — with courts backing them up.

Many netizens said that if banks can avoid responsibility by claiming “individual behavior,” the safety of counter deposits collapses and the long-held belief that “money is safest in the bank” is overturned. The public called on the appellate court to use judicial rulings to enforce banks’ legal responsibility under Article 6 of China’s Commercial Bank Law, which requires protection of depositors’ lawful rights. Yet critics say that when courts themselves ignore the law, there is little recourse.

Under CCP rule, Chinese residents have long had a strong crisis mentality, making China one of the countries with the highest household savings rates in the world. But over the past decade, as governments from central to local levels have faced financial strain, scandals involving stolen deposits have become a chronic problem in China’s banking system.

Examples include:
• “18 deposit disappearance cases exposed in 18 months involving 4.6 billion yuan”
• “7.3 million yuan missing from Shanxi CCB depositor”
• “95.05 million yuan missing from 42 customers at Hangzhou United Bank”
• “Tens of millions missing from ICBC depositors in Hebei”
• “Multiple Zhejiang banks report missing deposits — resident deposits 2.5 million, only 4 yuan left”
• “Luzhou Laojiao’s 500 million yuan deposits vanish at ABC and ICBC”
• “12.52 billion yuan deposit loss at Chang’an Bank”
• “Nearly 300 million yuan certificates of deposit mysteriously disappear at CITIC Bank”
• “250 million yuan vanishes from ICBC Nanning branch,” and more.

In July 2022, rural banks in Henan collapsed, freezing deposits of more than 600,000 customers across multiple local banks, involving over 40 billion yuan. The incident caused national outrage and drew international attention. Many such cases involve bank insiders exploiting their positions or management loopholes, using forged documents or improper procedures to misappropriate funds. Afterwards, banks frequently claim exemption based on “individual criminal acts.” Due to the financial difficulties of local governments, such incidents have become too numerous to count — yet authorities turn a blind eye.

Analysts say repeated occurrences of these cases are steadily eroding public confidence in the safety of the banking system. Observers also argue that the root problem is not individual misconduct but long-standing systemic flaws: weak internal controls, ineffective auditing and oversight, and unclear accountability mechanisms. Most disgracefully, authorities not only fail to address complaints but sometimes use violence to suppress depositors seeking justice.

In February 2024, a 39-year-old small business owner from Changsha, Hunan, Ou Yangyun (transliteration), traveled to Zhengzhou, Henan, with more than a dozen other victims of missing deposits. They gathered outside Zhengzhou Railway Station shouting, “Henan banks, return our deposits!” demanding the return of tens of thousands of yuan that had been inexplicably frozen. Police detained the protesters. Most were released after several days, but Ou Yangyun and two others remained in custody and later disappeared. His family’s attempts to contact Zhengzhou police and send letters went unanswered. They now fear he may have died.

Some experts point out that multiple cases reveal serious hidden dangers in commercial bank internal controls, while authorities show complete disregard for the rights of depositors, leaving victims with nowhere to turn — not even a place to cry out for justice.△