220K RMB Stolen From Italian Expat’s Chinese Bank Account

220K RMB Stolen From Italian Expat’s Chinese Bank Account
Aug 27, 2014 By eChinacities.com

Rafael, an Italian expat, got quite the shock when his wife, who was borrowing his ATM card, said that the account only held 361 RMB. The expat kept his money in an unidentified nationally owned bank in Guangzhou’s Tianhe district, and used it mainly on his auto parts business.

After finding out that the account had basically been emptied (they took 220,000 RMB and left him with 361 RMB), Rafael went to the local police station in Shanghai to file a report. Six hours later, he was told that nothing could be done for him, and that the Guangzhou police would have to handle it.

The bank looked into recent transactions, and established that the 220,000 RMB transaction was for a bathroom supply shop called “New Lily”.

Rafael’s friend allegedly had a similar experience a few years ago, and it brings up doubts over whether the Chinese banking system can be trusted. The vast majority of people doing business in China uses Chinese banks, ATMs and debit cards. However, another foreigner not too long ago discovered that keeping your money at home is also not the safest option.

Source: lostlaiwai.com

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Keywords: 220K RMB Stolen From Italian Expat’s Chinese Bank Account

7 Comments

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hazel-0fmine

wow...

Aug 30, 2014 15:43 Report Abuse

carlstar

the bank has to safe guard the money. it is in the contract you sign with the bank. They can just get it back and it becomes the banks problem. You hear Chinese people doing it all the time, it is called keeping customers happy and keeping the banking industry from collapsing due to a lack of consumer confidence

Aug 27, 2014 21:10 Report Abuse

Englteachted

We are foreigners in China, they make it very clear that stealing from us is ok.

Aug 28, 2014 09:20 Report Abuse

Mateusz

"You hear Chinese people doing it all the time" We're not Chinese people. Contracts mean nothing in China, especially when made with one of us. The banks don't care bout keeping us happy, and the majority wouldn't care about some "waiguoren" getting ripped off.

Aug 28, 2014 19:20 Report Abuse

carlstar

guess i am lucky i know Chinese people then. why do you guys use the banks here then? Can't you use hsbc, bank of america and other international branches in the big cities?

Aug 28, 2014 20:44 Report Abuse

expatlife26

I'm with Carlstar, I would be very surprised if the end of this story was this guy losing all that money.

Aug 29, 2014 17:27 Report Abuse

Englteachted

Many foreigners are too stupid to get the message. Take your business elsewhere.

Aug 27, 2014 20:58 Report Abuse