Beijing police dismantle three illegal private banks, capture 16 foreigners

Beijing has dismantled three major illegal private banks recently and vowed to root out all underground financial businesses in the city, local police sources said at a news briefing Monday afternoon.

The three underground banks, all based in Yabao Road of Chaoyang District, laundered 5.79 million US dollars of illicit income for a man surnamed Ma, who was working for a foreign trade company in nearby Hebei Province, The Beijing News has reported.

Ma was arrested for smuggling earlier this year and his bank accounts were frozen for investigation. It was subsequently found that operated through three illegal private banks.

Forty-one people, including the owners of the three banks, were apprehended in September and a total 28 million yuan (3.45 million US dollars) of illicit money was frozen by local police.

Among the captured, 16 are foreigners directly implicated in the illegal financial activities. They are suspected of offering their overseas identification to help launder money for a commission.

Beijing police have ordered the arrest of five Libyan suspects involved in the case.

Illegal banking has become rampant in Beijing's Yabao Road. They serve as an important channel of money laundering and the illegal foreign exchange.

Source: Xinhua