Chinese police have solved 158 major cases involving underground banks and money laundering this year and apprehended 450 suspects, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Tuesday.

In a crackdown launched by the 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 U.S. dollars), the MPS said.

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

Underground banks in different regions have increasingly colluded with one another, with crimes spreading to more places and committed in more covert ways.

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, according to the MPS. Endi

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