450 held for running illegal banking services in China

More than 400 people have been detained in China for allegedly providing illegal banking services involving nearly $30 billion.

In a crackdown launched by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, 192 locations where illegal banking services were provided have been discovered, involving nearly 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) in 158 cases.

Chinese police have detained 450 people in this case.

Crimes committed by underground banks are still rampant, although years of police efforts have managed to curb them to some extent, the MPS said in a statement.

Underground banks in different regions have increasingly colluded with one another, with crimes spreading to more places and committed in more covert ways, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Underground banks have become channels for transferring illicit money obtained through all sorts of illegal activity, including public funds embezzled by corrupted officials, the MPS said.

This year's crackdown has focused on cross-regional and cross-border underground banks, as well as those who transfer money gained from corruption and other crimes, it said.