Beijing law enforcement officers have broken up three illegal foreign currency trading rings, arresting 10 people and seizing almost US$ 1 million, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Wednesday.

More than 120 police and officials from the municipal foreign exchange authority took part in raids on September 13, seizing US$960,000 and over 500,000 yuan (US$63,000) in cash.

The authorities also seized 63 bankcards and froze 170 accounts, involving funds worth 6.9 million yuan (US$870,000).

The joint law enforcement operation began in June last year, when the gangs were put under surveillance, SAFE said.

The authorities suspect that illegal transactions by the gangs involve funds worth more than 100 million yuan in accounts in Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Xinjiang and other regions.

China's recent foreign exchange rate reform, characterized by the slow appreciation the yuan against a range of major currencies, has sparked off a revival of illegal speculation, which formerly profiteered from rigid controls on the private ownership of foreign currencies, analysts said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2006)