China's banking regulator said Saturday that 1,697 staff with financial organizations were held for bank crimes in the first half of this year.

Of them, 570 were high-profile staff at banks, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CRBC) said in a statement.

Pointing to this, it said that the move to crack down on illegal trades and operations at banks had achieved preliminary results.

Liu Jinbao, former chief executive of the Hong Kong operation of Bank of China, China's second largest lender, was handed a suspended death sentence for embezzlement last month.

Liu was found guilty of embezzling 14.3 million yuan (1.8 million US dollars), of which he personally pocketed 7.5 million yuan. He also received bribes amounting to 1.4 million yuan and was unable to account for 14.5 million yuan in personal assets.

The CBRC said in July, the number of illegal cases at the country's Big Four state banks dropped from a month ago.

Source: Xinhua