China's Ministry of Public Security said the men laundered money through telephone and internet fraud and used cryptocurrencies in the way.

The arrest comes as Chinese authorities have expanded their crackdown on cryptocurrency trading in recent months. The country last month banned three financial services and payments industry entities related to cryptocurrencies, and china's State Cabinet Council promised to tackle mining and trade between Kevin.

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 170 criminal groups involved in money laundering processes had been involved in money laundering processes, China's Ministry of Public Security said in a statement regarding the arrests.