A farmer in eastern China has been arrested after he allegedly opened a bogus bank office mimicking the look of the state-owned China Construction Bank (CCB).
The fake CCB branch in Lanling, Shandong was raided by local police last week, according to China News Service.
From the signs outside to a message board detailing opening hours by the door, the bogus bank was an impressive copy of the real thing.
A counterfeit RMB100 note was seen glued to a window to warn people not to use fake money.
The “bank” only offered deposit services, China News Service said.
According to Tencent News, the story came to light after a depositor, who put in RMB40,000 last month, called the police after he could not take money out from his account.
The “bank” opened on July 13 and was shut down in less than one month.
Police said a local farmer was behind the fake bank. The suspect has been arrested.
In January this year, a fake bank in Nanjing, Jiangsu fooled almost 200 people who gave away RMB200 million in deposits.
It was shut down after operating for more than a year.
Four “executives” of the non-existent “Nanjing Xinmeng Rural Economic Cooperative” were held.
