Police arrest 75 for underground banking
Xinhua, September 30, 2015
Chinese police have arrested 75 people in the past month for involvement in illegal banking activities involving a total of 240 billion yuan (37.8 billion U.S. dollars), announced the Ministry of Public Security on Wednesday.
Officers have also shut down 37 "underground banks," unapproved financial institutions commonly used for money laundering, in a crackdown launched in late August to maintain order in the financial and capital market, the ministry said in a statement.
Underground banks have become a key channel for the transfer of illicit money obtained through corruption, online gambling, telecommunication fraud, drug deals and tax evasion, the ministry said, describing the situation as "increasingly arduous and complicated."
Due to end in late Nov., the crackdown has enlisted help from financial institutions including the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges.
A similar campaign launched by the ministry in April uncovered cases involving more than 430 billion yuan.
