China police crack down on $30b in underground banking
Chinese police have busted underground banks that handled 200 billion yuan ($30.2 billion) in illegal money transfers this year, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Wednesday.
Police said they arrested 450 suspects involved in 158 cases of underground banking and money laundering, according to a notice posted on the MPS official website.
Beijing has been fighting illegal cross-border outflows in an attempt to slow capital flight as its yuan currency weakens to near six-year lows.
A special task force, jointly launched by the MPS, the central bank, and the foreign exchange regulator, uncovered illicit banking services in 192 locations this year, the notice said.
On Wednesday, China state broadcaster CCTV separately reported that police in the southern city of Shenzhen recently busted an underground bank that handled 30 billion yuan in transactions over a six-year period. Police arrested 26 major suspects in four different cities, the report said. The underground bank was disguised as a trade company.
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