BEIJING - Beijing police have busted six illegal banks holding assets of about 5 billion yuan ($790 million) as part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on money laundering.

Police detained 64 suspects, froze 100 illegal accounts and confiscated 260 bank cards in the bust, according to a Monday statement from the Ministry of Public Security.

Since the initiation of the crackdown in 2009, public security departments across the nation have solved over 150 cases involving underground banks, statistics from the ministry showed.

The ministry said it will continue to crack down on underground banks and money laundering in order to cut off channels used for transferring funds gained through illicit acts such as bribery, smuggling, telecommunications fraud and online gambling.